A Family of Three
by Haroz
Summary: The Shepard triplets, Jane, Kate, and Abbey. Watch as they grow up on the streets to fighting the strongest enemy organic life has ever faced. All three different morality outlooks. All Earth-born. Romances undecided. Will follow the course of all three games. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect as it is owned By Bioware and Electronic Arts

Hello readers, and thank you for reading, I would love comments and reviews. If you have any questions, suggestions, or see any plot holes feel free to p.m. me. I will try to respond as quickly as possible. Enjoy!

_**Jane's POV**_

Jane was looking out the window, staring at the tall skyscrapers off in the distance. Jane always loved looking at the buildings, showing her that there was more to Earth than the slums she had to live in. Her mother didn't approve but Jane didn't know why, to be honest a five year old didn't understand much.

"Jane we found a soccer ball in the ditch, you want to play?" asked Abbey, the younger one of her sisters

"Yeah!" replied Jane and she ran to go join her sisters outside.

The ball was used, but that didn't bother her. If she had been asked if she had ever anything that wasn't used she would have said no.

Outside she found Kate and Abbey kicking the ball in between them. They had grins from ear to ear. They just kicked the ball in between them. Most children would have been bored after awhile but this was the best thing that had happened for them in several days. Their last soccer ball had been stolen by some of the older kids in their old neighborhood.

They did this for about an hour when suddenly a voice cried out "How are my little girls?"

Jane turned around to see her mother with a grin ear to ear.

"Mom!" cried all three at once as they ran to their mother, quickly forgetting the soccer ball, all of them pushing past each other out of the way to get the first hug.

Of course she gave them all one big hug, and Jane always felt happy when she was embraced by her mom, forgetting the slums, the poverty…everything.

"Don't you have work?" asked Abbey

"I got a promotion today dear, so I thought I would take today off with my three angels in celebration." Their mother replied in her smoothing voice.

The three girls brimmed with pride at their mother, she always was trying so hard to support her little girls, and their life had been on the upswing lately. They had moved into their new apartment a few weeks ago, compared to the other it was amazing. It even had water and power that didn't go away every few days.

The rest of the day was spent with their mother, from just talking to her to actually going out and getting ice cream, a treat indeed. This was by far the best day of her life.

"So, what do you do now mom?" asked Jane

"I still work at the factory but I've been but in charge of the little group I work with. I'm hoping that within a few years that I might get another; then we could probably move into the city by then."

Saying that the little girls were excited was a monumental understatement. They had always dreamed of living in the city, it was a dream come true for any child still living in the slums right outside the city limits.

Three weeks had gone by and Jane started to notice that things were getting better faster than her mother had hoped. It turns out the job paid a little better than she expected, so they were able to get better food now.

Jane noticed with suspicion one day when her mother brought home three little bags.

"What are those mommy?" Jane asked

"Backpacks Jane." She responded

It took a few moments for the dots to connect but when they did she asked "We have to go to school?"

"Yes, I know you don't want to but it's for the best, when you get older you'll thank me." She responded, putting her head on Jane's shoulder.

Jane wanted to pout, to whine, and maybe even cry, but she didn't. The way her mom said it made her believe it.

"Alright mommy" she said, trying not to sound too sad.

Her mother smiled and rubbed her hand through Jane's red hair. Jane loved it when she did that, it felt great. Jane didn't say anything but embraced her mother, it was always nice to get a hug and a head rub.

Another month passed, and still things were good. Nothing bad had happened, they weren't robbed, attacked or even yelled at by some passing drunk.

Jane was just lying on the couch, thinking about school that would be coming up in a few months. She was scared of the idea for a while but soon realized that since Kate and Abbey would be with her she would be alright.

Suddenly a large noise rang out and startled Jane. This wasn't the occasional gunshot she heard in the old neighbor hood, this was something big.

"Jane! Are you okay!" called out a terrified Kate

"Yeah!" she called out

Jane ran to her room where she found her sisters hiding under their beds.

"I'm scared" muttered Abbey

"I'll go see what's wrong." Remarked Jane as she turned to leave

"Don't go, please." Cried Abbey

"I have too, I'll be back. Promise." She responded

Jane slowly walked her way through the apartment when she got to the window she liked to look out of. There was a large column of smoke coming for the factory just a few miles away from her house, the one where her mother worked.

"MOM!" screamed Jane

Her sisters had crawled their way up to her, and were staring out the window with her. All three stared in shock with tears rolling down their faces.

They had waited several hours when suddenly there was a knock at the door. Jane felt her heart speed up, hopefully mom was fine.

When she opened the door she was greeted by two large men wearing police uniforms.

"Hey there, can we talk to you?" asked the one on the left

Kate and Abbey had joined her at the door, and they looked at the officers with confused faces.

The officer knelt down and started to explain what happened at the factory. One of the reactors had melted down, and was going to destroy the entire factory and their mom was able to delay it and save everyone else … at the cost of her life. She was being called a hero, but that didn't matter to the little girls, all of them had started crying.

The officer tried to help them but it was of no avail, there was nothing he could really do.

He explained that an orphanage was going to send a car tomorrow to pick them up in the morning, and that they needed to gather all that they could.

When they left the little girls closed the door, and stood there unmoving for what felt like hours.

"Wha...what do we do n...now?" asked Kate, trying to speak through her sobs.

"We… pack." Remarked Jane

As the oldest of the triplets she felt their safety was her job, it's what her mother would have wanted her to do. She had to be strong for Kate, Abbey, and mom. She walked over to her room and started packing whatever they had into whatever bag they could find.

**Ten Years Later**

Jane woke up with a start. The nightmares had been plaguing her for years. They usually involved either Abbey or Kate getting killed, on really bad days… both. It wasn't anything new but that brought little comfort. She decided that since she wasn't going to get anymore sleep she might as well check on her sisters.

As Jane weaved through the hideout it became apparent that something was wrong, there were more injured than usual. Before she could make it to her sisters' room she was intercepted by Jaime, the man in charge of the Reds.

"Jane, we have a problem."

"Yeah, I noticed. Lot of injured around here."

"It's not that. Jane it's your sister, Kate."

Her heart stopped, she wondered if she dared ask "Is she …"

"Alive…Yes but… she was captured."

"Why! Where was she! Neither of my sisters are even part of the gang!"

"She was out shopping for food. Are you really surprised; it's easy to mistake either Abbey or Kate for you considering your identical triplets."

Jane groaned. This was a nightmare. "Who"

"The Vipers"

Jane let a slew of profanities leave her mouth as punched the nearest wall. The Vipers were a new gang that had started up recently, and they believed that the end justified the means. Rape, torture, prostitution, slavery … it was a crime syndicate in the making. The Reds might be vicious in fights, and they picked a lot of fights, but they had rules. None of that shit was acceptable here.

"What are we going to do?" she asked quietly

"They figured out pretty quickly that it wasn't you so they are trying to ransom her back to us. They want three bags of assault rifles for her. We need those weapons, but… I'm willing to give them away to save your sister."

Jane smirked, there was a reason that Jaime was willing to go through all this trouble; the Shepard triplets had revolutionized the gang. While Jane prohibited her two younger sisters from entering the gang they were allowed to help inside the main base. Within a few years the Reds were transformed from some low street gang trash into the strongest gang in the New York City area. However, gaining that much power so quickly gave you a lot of enemies.

"Jane!"

Jane turned quickly to see Abbey frantically looking for her.

"Abbey over here!" she called back

Abbey made it over to her "Jane they…"

"I know, we're going to get her back. I promise" Jane replied as she put a hand on her youngest sister's shoulder.

"Okay" Abbey looked like she was on the verge of crying, and Jane couldn't blame her, all they had left was each other.

"What's the plan?"

Jamie smirked, "Follow me; I think you're going to like this one."

**Three hours later**

"This is a fucking stupid idea, you know that right." Hissed Jane through her mike.

Through her binoculars she could see the corner of Jaime's lips curve into a smile. To say Jane was angry didn't give her feelings justice. She was fucking furious. Jane could see Abbey right next to Jaime, she was obviously nervous but she hid it well.

The plan had Abbey pretending to be Jane while Jane snuck down and found some cover behind the Vipers. If things hit the fan, and everyone was expecting it too, then she would open fire as Jane was the best shot in the Reds. It was the best plan to get Kate back if things got violent.

Jane was about to move out when she heard movement behind her. Jane leaned back against the wall, hoping that it wasn't a Viper.

She was disappointed immensely when a Viper walked past her and started to set up his sniper rifle. However this idiot hadn't noticed her and Jane planned to take advantage of it.

Jane walked up behind him, but a hand on his mouth and slashed his throat in one clean move. When he finally expired she brought the scope of the rifle to her eye. Ten Vipers faced off with ten Reds, however on the Viper side sat an injured Kate, or at least as far as she could tell as the Vipers had a bag over her head. Jane's blood started to boil immediately; she then broke the rifle the sniper had brought in her rage, which didn't really matter as she didn't know how to use it.

Now was the time to get in to position, she then grabbed hold of the leader that was nearby and slid down. She ran through the open building to her right and snuck behind the Vipers. Jane took cover behind several crates that were lying outside the warehouse.

It seemed negotiations were going well; no one had killed anyone yet. However just as things seemed to be going well all the Vipers drew on the Reds. Shepard left cover and was slowly approaching the group with her pistol out.

The Viper leader started to laugh, almost maniacally.

"You really thought we'd let you leave here!" he screamed at who he thought was Jane

Before anyone could move a sniper shot rang out, and Abbey fell backwards. Jane's eyes opened in horror, this couldn't be happening.

Jane immediately opened fire, killing three Vipers before they could get to cover. When the rest turned around they had the most terrified expressions. Jane barely paid attention as she started sprinting for the Viper leader.

Jane started to feel a strange sensation along her body, similar to the feeling when you rub your socks on the carpet and then touched someone. Suddenly she was instantly in front of the Viper leader and he was starting fly backwards as though he was hit by a car. She grabbed his neck and brought back for the beating that he deserved.

**Abbey's POV**

_Fuck, was I just hit by a sniper? _was all Abbey as she lay sprawled on the cement. Thankfully the shields that Jaime had installed in her clothes had kept the round from killing her. Before she could think about anything else a loud scream jolted her.

Abbey got up to see Jane charging the Vipers. Abbey was terrified; at that range Jane was as good as dead. Several Vipers fired but the rounds just bounced off, Abbey was just as confused as they were when she saw the faint blue glow on Jane's body.

Abbey gasped, Jane was a biotic!

Then Jane suddenly teleported straight into the Viper Captain. As he was flying away she pulled him back, throwing him into the ground. She heard a crack and noticed that his neck bent at an impossible angle.

Several Vipers jumped on her trying to pin her down when some sort of biotic blast came out of Jane. The Viper's were sent flying, all three going through brick walls, Abbey counted that three Vipers were still alive.

The Vipers started to run for their lives, but they weren't fast enough. Jane shot two of them in the head and used her teleporting power on the last one. Jane pinned the last one on the ground and beat him into a pulp. By the end his face was unrecognizable, and Jane's hands were coated in blood.

Abbey knew Jane was a bit brutal, that's why she was in the gang after all, but nothing like this.

Jane just stood there for a few moments, just looking down at the kid's face she just beat in.

"Jane! Abbey! Is someone there?"

In the excitement Abbey had completely forgotten about Kate.

"Kate I'm here, don't worry!" Abbey called out as she ran toward her.

She ripped the bag off her head and was relieved by the fact that Kate seemed to be in good shape, a couple of bruises but nothing too bad.

Abbey took off Kate's restraints and helped her to her feet.

Kate seemed to turn a little green at the scene before her, there were a lot of bodies.

"What happened here?" was all Kate could say

"Jane… took care of things."

Abbey looked back at her oldest sister, who was still staring at the body below her.

"Jane!" Kate called out

Jane looked toward Kate and Abbey and had on the biggest smile. When Jane ran over to them Abbey could see tears staining her cheeks.

Jane wiped away the tears with the back of her hand, and then started checking her sisters for injuries.

Abbey and Kate struggled a bit trying to get free, but Jane was the strongest between all of them.

"Jane, are you alright. You look … pale." Noted Abbey as soon as Jane was done

"Yeah … I'm fine … never better" replied Jane as she grabbed her knees and started to pant.

Abbey rolled her eyes at her sister's bravado, Jane always felt like she had to be invincible for their sakes. While it was a nice sentiment they weren't five any more.

"What the hell just happened?" asked a worried Jaime

"We won" replied

Jaime snorted at that.

"Well of course we won, that was never in doubt. But what happened to you?"

Abbey answered for Jane. "I guess Jane is a biotic, and a rather powerful one at considering the fact that she doesn't have an implant."

Jaime's eyes widened and Abbey wasn't surprised. Biotics were so rare in the slums that they were considered an urban legend. Abbey was more worried about Jaime's reaction as biotics in human society were treated quite … poorly.

Jaime's shock turned into a full blown smile. Abbey let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Everything was cool.

"That's incredible"

"Never mind … I feel like shit." Muttered Jane as she collapsed on Abbey.

Abbey would have freaked out if it wasn't for the fact that Jane was snoring softly in her arms, it was adorable, but see wouldn't dare tell Jane that. Jaime scanned her with his Omni-tool, looking for injuries.

"She seems to be fine; it looks like she just burned a massive amount of calories however."

Abbey was reminded of the research she had done on biotics when people started learning these powers existed. Apparently biotics used up an incredible amount of energy when they used their powers and needed about twice if not three times the food as those without biotics.

"She is going to need something to eat" Abbey said as she carried Jane to the air-car.

**Three Years Later Jane's POV**

Jane was staring at the vid-screen in front of her. Shock was written all over her face.

Jaime, the man who shielded her family, their leader … was dead. The police orchestrated a huge raid one of their safe houses … and he fought back.

After the incident with her biotics three years ago rumors had spread all over the city about the 'Red Demon'. It turns out that the sniper who shot Abbey had fled when Jane unleashed her biotics. Word got back to the rest of the Vipers. Soon after that all the gangs knew that Jane had biotics and used her as the bridge to unite all the other gangs against the Reds. The Reds held their own for awhile but she knew that it couldn't last. Turns out the catalyst for their downfall would be the police. Violence in the last three years had escalated by five hundred percent … according to the news reports anyway. So the police actually took action in the slums.

Jane shook her head to clear the thoughts that had been clouding her mind, now was not the time for that.

Jane heard a knock at the door.

"Who is it?"

"Abbey and Kate"

"You two don't need my permission to come in here."

The door opened and Kate responded "We ask to make sure we don't see anything like **last time**."

Jane simply shrugged, it's not like she had really cared.

"What's up?" Jane asked

"Jane, we think it's time we got off Earth. Things are getting bad, the Reds don't have much time." Said Abbey

Jane didn't want to agree, the Reds were the closet thing she had to a family other than her sisters. Leaving was simply something she didn't want to do; she would rather go down fighting. However she knew that if she didn't leave Kate and Abbey wouldn't either. That was unacceptable.

"How? We don't have the money to get off Earth." Jane replied

"The Alliance" They both said

"The Alliance?" she replied turning towards her sisters.

"Think about it; free room and board, a job, and more importantly the gangs would never be brave enough to attack us." Kate replied, excitement in her voice

"Couldn't they just rat us out to the cops?" Jane replied

"No proof, plus who would trust any of that scum." Answered Abbey

She had a point there, and not having to worry about starving to death was a nice bonus.

"Don't they send biotics to different training facilities?"

"As long as you don't use your powers they won't know, you never did get your biotic amp remember." Retorted Abbey

Jane had to laugh at that. Abbey and Kate had wanted her to get a biotic amp since the day she discovered her biotics. They had said it was for the best, for all of them. The irony did not escape her.

"Alright, let's do it." Jane said

The three of them spent the next three hours sneaking through the streets to get to the recruiters office. They were still cautious about being seen on the streets. They made it to the recruiter's office with no problem.

When they opened the door they were surprised how nice the office was compared to what they had been used to their entire lives. Nothing on the floor, no bullet holes in the wall, no blood splattered on the walls… just incredible.

"Hello, how can I help you?" Called a man from deeper inside

They turned the corner to find a tall man sitting behind a desk, hunched over some data reports.

"We were hoping that we could enlist." Responded Jane

The man chuckled, "Well this is the place."

He looked up and his left brow arched a little, not much but enough for Jane to know he was surprised.

"Is something wrong?" asked Kate

"Nothing really, just surprised. You three look very clean cut compared to what I get normally."

That wasn't what Jane was expecting at all, most people asked immediately about how similar they were. Being identical triplets tends to draw attention.

"Thanks" Responded Kate

The recruiter motioned them to sit down in the chairs in front of the desk.

Jane took a moment to look the man over. Clean shaven, bright baby blue eyes. He was well built and had regulation length blonde hair. That was odd, blonde hair was a trait that had been going the way of the dinosaur over the last one hundred years.

"So have any of you ever been convicted of a felony or have history of drug abuse?" he asked in a voice that suggested that he had asked this questions thousands of times.

They all responded with a confident no at the same time.

He studied their expressions with the practiced scrutiny of an interrogator. Jane chuckled on the inside, she sure had experience with that type.

"I actually believe you three." He said with a hint of disbelief

Jane smirked on the inside. While she had never been convicted of anything she had committed plenty of felonies during the time of her childhood.

"I have to run a background check to be sure, but I'm not expecting anything." He responded as he scrolled through his Omni-tool.

After about ten minutes of just casual conversation the Omni-tool beeped, signaling the end of its search. As Jane expected it had found nothing.

"Well it looks like you three are good to go. Just fill out some paper work and report at the space dook tomorrow at 0800. Welcome to the Alliance." He stood up and shook their hands and led them out of the recruitment center.

As soon as the three were out of sight they started cheering at their victory. They had just gotten the chance to earn themselves a real life.

They spent the next three hours getting their way back to the hideout. They still had to be careful. The three, mainly Jane, had earned a lot of enemies over the years. They were about to turn the corner to the base when they heard screaming and gun shots. They suddenly froze and crouched down, instincts honed form living on the streets kicking in. Jane inched her head around the wall and witness complete chaos.

Around the corner was the biggest turf battle she had ever seen. It looks like the other gangs finally got the balls to wipe out the Reds.

Jane got them the hell out of there. There was no way that they could fight them all, and the police would respond any minute now.

When they made it to the space port, they took a collective sigh. That was close, too close.

"How did that happen? Since when did the other gangs have the balls to attack head on!" shouted Kate

"Kate keep your voice down, there's nothing we can do." Replied Abbey

"I'm sorry, but those people just did us a huge favor." Jane retorted

Both of her sisters looked at her with mild confusion.

"What do you mean?" asked Kate

"The only people who know our identities are there at the base right now being slaughtered. We have a blank slate; no one will ever be able to link us with the gangs." She responded

Abbey squinted her eyes in disgust but said nothing. However Kate felt free to express her mind "How the hell can you say that, those were our friends. How the hell can you be so cold?!" yelled Kate

Jane didn't respond and Kate walked away in steaming rage. Jane wasn't worried, Kate would forgive her by the morning; she always did.

"You know you can be a true bitch sometimes, right?" asked Abbey. Her voice didn't give away any emotion.

"I do" she replied with just as much emotion as Abbey's question had.

Abbey actually seemed satisfied with this answer and went over to comfort Kate, who was starting to shed tears at the loss of her friends.

**Sixteen Hours Later**

Jane stood looking at the military transport that was on its final approach. Normally she would hide at the sight of a craft owned by the military as they occasionally helped the police with the large raids. It took all of her will power to resist her honed instincts, her instincts thankfully lost. It was strange; an enemy was the key to her sisters' salvation, and her own.

Jane let a small chuckle escape her lips.

She noticed Kate at the edge of her vision.

"You know I'm not going to apologize right?" Jane asked

"I know, since when have you apologized." She retorted, with a little bit of bitterness coloring her tone.

"Maybe before mom died." Jane acknowledged

"Yeah, as much as I've called you a bitch over the years I appreciate everything you sacrificed for Abbey and I."

"Thanks, it helps to hear that every now and then."

Kate stood in front of her beaming with a smile. "We made it off Earth, mom would be proud. We have a new life now."

Jane wanted to say that they hadn't left yet … but she couldn't ruin her sister's mood, not this time.

Suddenly a voice over the intercom said "All out bound recruits report to dock A7"

"Time to go" Muttered Jane

When they arrived a Drill Sergeant was calling recruits into the line forming in front of the door.

"Santana, Eric"

Jane noticed the parents of some of the recruits, faces brimming with pride as tears dropped down their faces.

"Shepard, Abigail"

Jane heard Abbey grumble as she joined the line. It was heard not to laugh at Abbey's distaste of her full name. Knowing that she would be next she decided to take one last look at all the parents. A flood of emotions rushed to her head as she thought about how no one was there to see the three of them off.

"Shepard, Jane"

Jane took her place in line behind her sister. Jane pushed her emotions to the back of her mind. Now was supposed to be a good moment, the moment where the three of them got the hell out of the shit hole that was Earth.

"Shepard, Kate"

Kate was the last on the list, and the Drill Sergeant led them inside the shuttle. It was a little crowded by most standards but to Jane this kind of space was luxurious. She set her bags in the overhead compartment as was pleasantly surprised when she realized that the rows were in threes. The three of them grabbed seats in the back. Jane took the window seat and watched as the shuttle rise at of Atmo for the next few minutes. The shuttle ride to Luna was only about a hour flight.

Jane turned to ask her sisters a question only to discover that they had already fallen asleep. Jane chuckled softly, thankfully not waking them. Jane slowly dozed off, realizing that there were unlikely to get any sleep when they got there.

Before she completely dozed off Jane had a single thought, replying in a way to Kate's comment.

_A new life indeed_

Hello readers, thank you for spending time to read my story. I hope you comments and reviews as I want to read them. As you noticed this story deals with the Shepard triplets. I'm sure you noticed Jane and Kate's outlooks but I want to point out that while Abbey is very close to being neutral she slightly leans closer to Kate's views than Jane's, just to avoid confusion. Any italicized text is thought by the character but not spoken by the way. This story is meant to go all the way to the end of Mass Effect 3, which I may or may not change. I might decide to break up the whole thing into three stories, one for each game. I will be giving Jane Mass Effect 2 powers like charge and shockwave to Jane before Mass Effect 1 starts, I don't that will bother any of you but I'm not sure.

I apologize for any grammar and spelling mistakes that I didn't catch and I hope you enjoyed.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect as it is owned By Bioware and Electronic Arts

Hello readers, welcome to Chapter 2 of The Family of Three. Hope you enjoy and please review. PM me if you have any questions.

_**Jane's POV**_

Jane was awoken by the shuttle landing on Luna. It wasn't a big jolt, but Jane was a light sleeper. Anyone who survived on the streets for thirteen years was, as proved by her sisters waking up as well. The entire shuttle was filled with activity as everyone pushed their way to their bags at the front.

It took a good fifteen minutes before everyone was off the transport. There was nowhere for any of the recruits to go however as all the doors inside were closed. Some small groups of recruits started to group up for idle conversation when one of the doors finally opened.

Jane was greeted by the sight of a bear of a man. He was massive, looked to be about six and a half feet tall. This man seemed to be made of complete muscle.

Everyone stopped talking and stared at the man. Most of the recruits color drained slightly as they all realized that this man was likely to be their Drill Instructor.

"Good morning recruits, welcome to Luna Base 97. My name is Drill Instructor Gonzalez, and my word is law, if I ask you jump you say how high! Is that understood?!" he shouted

"Sir, yes, Sir!" everyone responded

"Good, welcome to boot camp!" He responded, with the most terrifying smile Jane had ever seen.

He led them all through the facility, giving a basic tour. They were shown the cafeteria, the barracks, the staff's offices, and they were now heading to the med station.

"Before training can start we need to guarantee that you are fit for duty. Report inside and follow the doctor's instructions!" barked Gonzalez

"Yes Sir!"

All of the recruits were herded in and Jane was amazed by the size of the place. It had enough beds for about half of the recruits, but that fact caused Jane to ponder on why there was so much. After all, why build what you don't need.

Assistants scrambled around getting data from all the recruits before sending them to different stations.

Jane found herself being scanned by the Doctor's Omni-tool.

"You are a five foot nine inch woman weighing in at a hundred and ten pounds? Care to explain?" asked the Doctor, narrowing her eyes at Jane.

Jane felt insulted, how dare someone judge her when they didn't have the slightest idea of what she had been through.

"It's kind of hard to actually get a balanced diet where I come from … Ma'am" Jane snarled

The Doctor crossed her arms across her chest and assumed a defensive posture.

"What's with the attitude and the vague answer?"

"If you had any idea of what I've been through or what living on Earth is truly like then you wouldn't be asking those questions… Ma'am." Jane retorted

The Doctor seemed to relax just a bit. She rubbed the back of her neck and said "I've been told about the… joys of life on Earth. I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Once the doctor was finished evaluating the recruits Gonzalez started them on an hour exercise routine.

By the time it was over everyone else but Jane and her sisters were at least panting, several had lost their breakfast. Jane was covered along in a light sheen of sweat along with her sisters, but that was nothing compared to the ocean of sweat coming from the other recruits.

Gonzalez seemed impressed, though he was trying to hide it.

"Recruits, report to the cafeteria for some chow."

Jane's heart stopped for a beat. She just realized that she would be eating the same amount of food as everyone else. Jane swore at herself for not thinking about this before, how could she be so stupid!

On the way to the cafeteria Jane tried to come up with every possible excuse to why she needed more food. She couldn't come up with anything that wasn't so pathetic that it was laughable.

Jane took a look farther up the line; the recruits were getting a decent amount of food … for a non-biotic.

When it was her turn the cook gave her about double what the other recruits got. Jane arched a brow wondering why exactly she was getting more food.

"Underweight recruits receive double rations until they return to a healthy body weight. Then they are weaned off." Responded the cook to Jane's unasked question.

Jane took her food and sat at the nearest empty table. Jane and let out the breath she had been holding. In a couple of minutes her sisters had joined her, all with the same amount of food as her.

"That was extremely convenient. In fact everything that has happened in the last couple days has been extremely convenient now that I think about it. " voiced Abbey

"No kidding, can't believe we didn't think about this beforehand though. But I'll take it." Responded Jane, careful not to mention what they had forgotten while everyone was around.

"Problem is that you won't be gaining any weight with just that amount of food. They'll get suspicious eventually." Kate whispered, being uncharacteristically pessimistic.

"True" Jane muttered back

"Are those seats taken?" asked a small voice, sounding as quiet as a mouse.

The triplets turned to see a group of three recruits standing behind them, all shifting on their feet nervously.

"No, have a seat." Voiced Kate before Jane could tell them to fuck off.

Jane gave a brief look that told Kate _why?_

She responded with her own look that said _why not?_

The three recruits all put on a small smile and took their seats across from the triplets.

"I'm Kate, this is Abbey and Jane." Kate said pointing to her sisters respectively

"Name's Jacob" said the one in the middle.

Jane looked Jacob over. He was tall, a little pale, and very skinny. He didn't seem to be under weight but was still skinny compared to the other male recruits. Jacob had dirty blonde hair that was average length.

"I'm Jordan" said the girl to Jacob's right.

Jordan was average height, dark skin tone, and had an athletic build. The interesting part about her was her crystal blue eyes and short black hair.

"Abraham, but everyone calls me Abie." Said the last one

Abie had short brown hair and emerald green eyes. He was average height, a little skinny, and had a skin tone roughly half way in-between Jacob and Jordan.

"Where are you guys from?" Jane found herself asking, and was very surprised that she cared enough to ask.

"I'm a spacer kid." Said Jordan

"I lived on Elysium." Responded Abie

Jane felt her hands starting to clench and stopped herself before anyone noticed.

_Rich kid_

"And you?" Abbey asked directly her question to Jacob who was being silent.

Jacob suddenly looked very tired, not tired as in ready to go sleep but to just let go and fade away. A look that no kid should have.

"Mindoir" he responded, his voice drifting away to silence

The three triplets were confused, as far as they knew Mindoir was a decent little colony in the ass end of nowhere in the Traverse. It was so unremarkable that the only reason that she knew about it was because one of her friends smuggled himself to Mindoir to hide from an outstanding warrant.

Jacob picked up on their confusion rather quickly and explained. "Mindoir was attacked by batarian slavers two months ago."

Jane cringed at that, the slavers on the streets of Earth were one thing but the batarians … that was its own kind of hell.

"So you three are really identical triplets?" asked Abie, clearly trying to change the subject.

"Yes" answered all three at once, and Jordan chuckled as soon as they did.

"Where are you three from?" asked Jacob

"Earth" Jane spat

"I thought Earth was supposed to be great, what's with the hatred in your tone?" asked Abie

Jane felt her jaw clenching; she hated dealing with ignorant people.

"Earth has nice cities, but everywhere else is a fucking slum." Said Abbey

"I'm sorry; on Elysium you're told that Earth is the center of the human race. It's hard to imagine slums on the home world of the Alliance." explained Abie

The other two nodded their agreement.

Jane's anger towards these people evaporated instantly. How could she get angry with people that had been lied to their entire life, it wasn't their fault they hadn't known. Plus when they were told the truth they had actually apologized, Jane respected owning up to your mistakes and ignorance. She found herself suddenly liking these people.

The conversation drifted into a comfortable silence as everyone finished their meals. Jane could tell that the six of them would be good friends, and Jane was excited. When she thought about it she never had any real friends besides her sisters, it was nice change of pace.

**Five months later**

Jane found herself alone with the 'corpses' of Jacob and Abie around the corner of the concrete building she was using for cover. 'Corpses' because the paintball bullets only froze up the sections of the armor that they hit. Unless of course it was a lethal shot, then the whole suit would go stiff.

Jane turned to look at the blue spots on their helmets, and just shook her head, knowing full well that they could see her.

It was a fifty vs. ten search and destroy mission. The fifty had to 'kill' the ten, but the ten had an hour to plan. Abbey was on the smaller team along with Kate, a very terrible combination for Jane.

Things had started well. Three on the other team were dead within five minutes, but they had been bait to attracted most of her team into the kill zone that Abbey had set up, using Kate to pin everyone down.

_Damn it Abbey, you always have the perfect plans._

They had done everything by the book but Abbey was always one step ahead, and having Kate on her team sure as hell helped. Kate had ranked as the best sniper out of all the recruits, and even some of the staff … though none of them would ever admit it.

Jane saw movement to her left and fired her shotgun on instinct. She was rewarded with a satisfying thud as the body hit the floor. One of Abbey's people coming up to flank her, Jane knew that Abbey knew where she was.

_Four down._

Jane looked down at her teams counter. There were only twenty two left … fantastic.

"Team, get ready to move, on my mark everyone get up and rush the building."

"That's suicide!" yelled one of her team mates

"Only for some, and Kate won't be prepared for it." Jane said bluntly

All of her teammates sent grunts of acknowledgement. They weren't happy about it but they knew Jane was right, and it was Jane's turn to be in charge.

"Three, two one, MARK!" she yelled over the comm.

Her teammates vaulted over their cover and made a break for it. Jane however pulled out her pistol and waited for what she knew was coming.

Four figures emerged for the buildings and opened fired on her team as they ran for it.

Jane pulled her pistol up and killed three of them. The fourth got it in the leg and crawled to safety.

_Three to go._

"We made it." Said Jordan

Jane looked at her counter and noticed that thirteen were alive.

_Wow, Kate is getting sloppy_

Jane heard a pebble move behind her and dropped down and swung her legs out, toppling the poor recruit that had tried to sneak up on her.

Jane chuckled as she shot him right in the head.

"Watch out, it's just Abbey and Kate left. Abbey must be the injured one."

"Got it we'll…"

And her counter dropped by one. Jane just shook her head and crept through the street, never being out in the open for more than a heartbeat. Jane hated how the mikes just cut out when someone died, sure it was realistic but it was demoralizing… and ominous.

"Who's alive?" she asked

Her entire team called out their names as she approached the building. However another one had cut out as they spoke.

She found all the survivors on the first floor, an incredible six of them.

"We think that they are on the second floor. A group went to scout it out but they died before they could say anything." Remarked Jordan

Jane looked at the stair well, its lights were turned off but she could swear that she could see the outlines of a corpse, collapsed at the bottom of the stairs.

"Alright let's go"

**Kate's POV**

Kate was perched behind a crate that was on the opposite side of the room from the stairwell, right by a window. It was a perfect position as she had an escape route and decent cover. The corpses around the entrance testified to that.

Abbey sat on the same wall that the stairway door was on. She looked like a corpse from where Kate was looking but she was anything but. While Abbey was shot in the leg, most likely by Jane, it didn't mean she was useless. In this case she might be even more useful.

Suddenly six people burst from the stair well and Kate opened fire. Three were down before the others reacted. They all took cover behind some support pillars. Kate didn't have a clear shot … but Abbey sure did.

Abbey raised her pistol and three shots rang out.

"We got th- Oh Shit!" Abbey screamed as Kate heard the window behind her break.

Kate saw Abbey raise her pistol towards her just as a bullet hit her helmet, and she slumped for real this time. Kate had started to turn around but felt a hand grab the back of her armor and pull.

Kate felt a moment of weightlessness and realized that was because Jane had just thrown her out the window!

Kate landed hard; it knocked the breath out of her. Kate looked up to see Jane falling towards her so Kate rolled and stood up, but a powerful kick from her sister sent Kate straight through the window on first floor. Kate desperately brought her pistol to bear on Jane.

As Kate was about to fire she felt her armor freeze up and her head fell back on the floor. Kate felt herself being carried, and Jane put her body against the wall so she wouldn't have to lie on the floor.

"Match over, defenders defeated."

Kate groaned; she actually lost. The defending team had never lost if Abbey had been on it, mainly because of Abbey's extreme strategic mind.

However it appears that Jane's ability to sacrifice her entire team without hesitation was able to best them.

Suddenly her suit was limber again and Jane helped her up. Kate knew Jane had a smile from ear to ear. Jane took off her helmet and proved her right.

"Thanks for throwing me out a window." Kate said sarcastically

"Had to be dramatic." Jane responded as she patted Kate on the shoulder

"All recruits report to the barracks!" barked Gonzalez over the Comm.

"He sounds pissed." Remarked Abbey as she walked down the stairs to greet her two sisters

"He always sounds pissed." Retorted Jane

They all chuckled in agreement at that.

The rest of the recruits were moving out of the large mini-concrete town they refer to as the Arena. All of the practice matches took place her, and Kate loved being in it.

In the barracks Kate noticed that Gonzalez was actually pacing, that meant something was wrong. All of the recruits lined up in single file lines, in no particular order however as squads were to be chosen next week.

"There are going to be some new additions as of tomorrow. The Alliance is going to be trying an experiment by intermingling biotics with the rest of us. I'm not stupid; I know a lot of you have pretty low opinions of biotics. IF I HAVE THE SLIGHEST FEELING THAT ANY OF YOU ARE GOING TO TRY SOMETHING I WILL PERSONALLY BLOW YOU OUT THE AIRLOCK! IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?!"

"SIR, YES, SIR!"

"DISSMISSED"

Kate and her sisters returned to their little corner when Jordan, Abie, and Jacob and joined them in their usual 'post-mission review'.

"So what do you guys think about biotics?" asked Jordan

"So they have special powers, they are still just people like you and me. I still don't understand why people hate them so much, and probably never will." Commented Jane

"That's uncharacteristically wise of you Jane, something wrong?" asked Abbey with a smile ear to ear.

"Maybe" Jane shrugged "However I meant what I said, the prejudice that biotics face proves how stupid humanity can be." Jane sighed

"I agree biotics have been treated like shit for something that wasn't their fault." Remarked Abie

Jordan and Jacob nodded their heads in agreement. Kate saw the corners of Jane's lips curl into a smile. Jane looked extremely relieved, though she did a good job hiding it … but Jane couldn't hide anything from her.

**NEXT DAY JANE' POV**

The biotic kids had just arrived, and had been given time to get settled in. There were four of them, two boys and two girls. They all seemed to be nervous, and Jane couldn't really blame them. They were the only biotics here as far as they were told, and they knew hell would be waiting for them here, or so they thought. When Jane had introduced herself to them they all had to retrieve their lower jaws from the floor. They had introduced themselves but the only one that Jane had paid any attention to was the cute blonde girl named Hannah.

Jane had given the four a tour of the place. Throughout the tour Jane noticed heated glares directed at her that said 'Why are you helping those freaks?!'

Jane didn't really give a shit. While some of the more bigoted kids might bully the biotics no one would try to intimidate her … every one of the recruits here feared her, and for good reason.

She finished the tour and was about to grab some chow when she heard some commotion back in the barracks.

_Fuck_

She ran back to see twelve recruits surrounding the biotics, all with disgust written on their faces.

The recruit leading them was an ass named Jason. He was the tallest recruit out of all of them, even taller than the six foot two giant that was Jacob. Jason made it very clear yesterday how much he despised biotics, of course he said all of that when Gonzalez wasn't around.

All of the other recruits were people she hadn't even bothered to talk to as they were average recruits and personally didn't seem that interesting. The thing that made this entire group dangerous was the fact they were all navy brats. All of them had parents in the military, most of them officers. Jason's mother of course, was an Admiral of one of the fleets. This made Jason extremely dangerous, as one call back to his mother and Jane's entire career would be over before it had begun.

But none of that mattered to her at the moment, and Jane positioned herself between Jason and the biotics.

"Jason" she said calmly, with a sharp edge to it.

"Jane" he sneered

"I'm going to ask you once. Leave. Them. Alone." She said with the most threatening tone she had, and out of the corner of her eye she could she some of the other recruits fidgeting. Some of them wanting nothing more than to run away. It made her more than a little happy that she still knew how to scare the crap out of others.

"And why would I do that?" he asked, puffing out his chest trying to be as terrifying as possible.

_Wow, does this kid think he can scare me just because he is bigger than me? Amateur._

"Because you know exactly what happens when people piss me off and if you've forgotten you can always ask Rodriquez." A devilish grin appeared on her face

Rodriquez was a recruit who had issues about taking orders from women as he thought they were inferior in almost every way, a mindset that Jane had thought had died out before the 22nd century … but to her great disappointment it had not. In a practice battle Rodriquez refused to cover Abbey when Jane ordered him too, and got Abbey shot. Jane didn't like that one bit. Gonzalez was going to berate the young man but Jane convinced him that if Jane was the one to show Rodriquez the errors of his ways the lesson would stick more. Gonzalez was reluctant at first but eventually saw the wisdom in her side of the argument … and arranged for Rodriquez and Jane to face off in a match in the ring, and everyone else was required to watch.

To say Jane had beat the shit out of him would be an understatement. The kid ended up with a few broken ribs, a black eye, a dislocated shoulder, and a cracked collar bone, all of these injuries suffered in the first and only round. Jane herself didn't get hit once, and the surprise on everyone's faces was priceless when Rodriquez was knocked out cold. The best part was that Rodriquez was thought to be the best hand-to-hand fighter out of all the recruits. Victory was sweet indeed.

People tended to give her a wide berth after that … and no one disobeyed orders when she was in charge of a team. Jane was now the most feared recruit of them all, and Jane had noticed that even some of the drill instructors were careful around her.

Jason gulped, then nodded to his friends and they all backed off. To their credit they didn't run away like scared little kids. Jane snorted in surprise … and was also a little disappointed.

"How did you do that?" asked one of the biotics, Jaden was his name.

Jane turned to see all the biotics staring at her in admiration.

Jane chuckled and responded "It might have something to do with the fact that all of the recruits here fear me… well except for my sisters anyway."

The biotics seemed amazed that someone had actually stood up for them, let alone someone who could actually make a difference for them.

"Thank you, it's been so long since anyone has stood up for us." Responded Hannah

Jane got serious and replied "I know how…"

Suddenly Abbey and Kate emerged from around the corner.

"Jane, everything alright?" asked Abbey

"Yeah I'm fine, Jason doesn't have the balls to try anything on me." Remarked Jane, smiling like an idiot.

"Meet my sisters Abbey and Kate… and yes we're identical triplets." Said Jane, turning around to talk to the biotics.

One of them arched his eyebrows, no doubt about the fact that they were identical triplets. It was understandable and Jane really didn't mind.

"So you guys really don't have a problem with biotics?" asked the other girl.

"There was this biotic I knew on Earth. She saved my life so many times that I've lost count. She always protected me and I'll always be grateful to her for it." Said Kate

Jane gave Kate a look that said _I love you too._

Kate's lips turned into a smile for half a second, acknowledging the message.

"Wow, you guys lived on Earth. What was it like?" asked Hannah

"A shit hole." Said the triplets, not even a hint of sarcasm or amusement in their voices.

Hannah cringed along with the other biotics, they had no idea what living on Earth was like. Earth was the home world of the Human race, why would it suck?

"Anyone hungry?" asked Jane

Everyone nodded and they went straight to the cafeteria. Kate and Abbey over the last five months had actually gotten to a healthy body weight and had been getting regular rations for the last two weeks. Jane however had gained a measly five pounds overall. Gonzalez had interrogated her a few times but all Jane ever responded with was that she has a "fast metabolism", which was the truth. She asked him once why he didn't ask if she actually ate her food. Gonzalez casually remarked that he had people watch her eat everyday through the security cameras so he knew she ate her food. The remark bothered Jane but she was hardly surprised … why wouldn't they.

The biotic kids got four times the rations that the normal recruits got, and Jane was really tempted to ask for a little bit of food but stopped realizing that it would draw attention. Besides Jane was used to having not enough food anyway, that was life on Earth for you.

The biotic kids were a little surprised to see Jane wolf down her food faster than they could. Usually eating food like she did was a sign of being a biotic, but they must have come up with their own reasons as none of them asked.

The rest of their lunch time was spent in idle conversation, and after lunch was over training time began again.

**A Week Later Jane's POV**

Surprisingly no one else had even insulted the biotics after Jane had threatened Jason. It turns out when the strongest, meanest, and most feared recruit backs the biotics bigots don't have the nerve to satisfy their need to insult and bully. Jane was more than a little impressed with herself, she had manage to block the hate and bigotry which would have turned this little training ground into a time bomb … at least for now.

Jane wasn't stupid and she **knew **that Jason would pull something eventually, but she would worry about it when the time came. She was ready for it though … and had advised her friends, her sisters, and the biotics to keep their guard up.

The biotics were nice enough, but Jane was put off by their lack of confidence of themselves. However Jane understood the reason behind it … especially with Hannah. Turns out Hannah's parents had practically disowned her and threw her to the BAaT training program when they discovered she was a biotic. Hannah claimed that she would never forgive her parents for it and Jane agreed completely. If parents refused to accept their kids, especially for something their child could not control what kind of parents were they.

Jane was brought out of her thoughts as Gonzalez yelled over the comm. about the recruits getting their asses to the main barracks.

When she arrived everyone was at attention waiting for him to speak, and Jane followed suit.

"Today is the day where you get assigned your squads!" he roared

Jane could see Kate on the other side of the room desperately trying, and failing, to repress a smile.

"JASON! JANE! ABBEY! KATE! GET YOUR ASSES UP HERE!" he yelled

Kate's grin grew even larger.

"Congratulations squad leaders. Here are your assigned team members." Gonzalez said, with a little pride, as he handed each of them a data pad.

Jane got second squad, and she was pleasantly surprised that all of the biotics were in her squad. But it's not like they could be given to Jason. While Gonzalez was rough on the recruits he was not unfair, he knew the bigot that Jason was and would not send his people into that kind of hell. It was probably the only kind thing he would be able to do for them, but it was probably the only thing they would need.

Jane looked up to see the other drill instructors herding the groups into lines, right in front of their squad leader. Jane looked to see the glimmer of hope in the biotics eyes when they realized they were assigned to her.

The only thing that bothered her about this whole arrangement was Jason, while he was a good leader when he had to be he was not as effective as Abbey or Kate. Hell, Jane was surprised that she was even made a squad leader; all she thought she was good for was insane suicidal tactics. Whenever Jane led a team most of them 'died', though she always won not matter what.

When the recruits were dismissed for the day she immediately headed straight towards Gonzalez's office. The door to his office was closed, which meant that he was talking to someone else. She waited patiently outside his office, when it opened revealing a tall soldier. His skin tone was very dark and he had the aura of a military man. He looked at Jane nodded, and even smiled, before walking away. Jane had never met this man before and was surprised by his conduct towards her. Jane shook off her confusion; she had more important things to worry about.

She stepped in from of the opened door and asked "Permission to enter Sir?"

"Granted, is there something you need?" he responded

Jane entered and shut the door as she did so. Gonzalez pointed to the chair so Jane took a seat.

"I have a question about the choice of squad leaders Sir."

"What about?" he asked his eyes narrowing just a bit.

"Why me?"

That seemed to catch the Drill instructor off guard a bit.

"Why not?"

"Whenever we do a practice simulation most of my team 'dies' Sir."

The surprise in Gonzalez's face disappeared and was replaced by something else… was it understanding?

"Jane, the mission always takes priority. Sacrifices have to be made … a lesson that you seem to understand completely."

"I don't really think that's something to be proud of Sir."

"It isn't but it is necessary. I don't like it but that's the way it works."

Jane understood; she was made a squad leader because of what she does not in spite of it.

"I … understand Sir. Thank you Sir."

Gonzalez gave a comforting nod as she got up to leave. He might be an ass when he was in Drill instructor mode but Jane couldn't shake the feeling that he was much more understanding and caring than he would ever be given credit for.

Jane left his office with a new understanding, though it was not the explanation she was hoping for.

"Jane! Can you believe it!" yelled Kate as Jane left his office.

Jane chuckled. Kate had been dreaming about being made a squad leader. Jane put her arm around her sister's shoulders and started leading them back to the barracks.

"We all did it! It's great, all of us made Squad Leader!" Kate shouted, squealing like a little girl.

It made Jane really happy to see Kate like this. Living on Earth had robbed them of real happiness. To see Kate get it back meant the world to her. However when they returned to the barracks her mood was soured. Jason was trying to cause trouble again and was baiting the biotics to attack him.

Jane removed herself from her sister and took her spot between Jason and the biotics ... again.

"I thought I warned you about the consequences last time. Jason." Jane spat

"You don't get to talk to a superior officer like that, but since it's the first time I'll let that slide." Jason sneered

_Shit. He is the superior officer here. Fuck. I guess being first squad leader has perks._

Jane laughed, "You really think that just because you're the first squad leader means that I'll hesitate to break you. Hah. Give me a fucking break, that rank won't stop your bones from breaking."

Jason flinched, though it wasn't that noticeable even to Jane, who was a master at reading people.

Jane was convinced that Jason wouldn't have the balls to call her bluff, but he wasn't backing down either. Strange.

After a few tense moments however he did back off. He stormed off, his entire squad followed suit, all while Jane was smiling at them. Jane still held dominance and was unchallenged … for now at least.

The rest of the biotics let out a loud sigh. Their troubles were delayed at least.

**Next Day Jane's POV**

"Alright recruits. It's time for the first match of the day." Remarked Gonzalez, he seemed rather upbeat … or was he nervous, he was always hard to read. "Before we get started we have a special guest."

Suddenly the man she had seen yesterday was standing right next to Gonzalez.

"Hello recruits. My name is David Anderson. I'm an N7 graduate who has come to observe the little experiment that the Alliance has cooked up here." he said

Jane's eyes turned into saucers.

_An N7 graduate, here!_

Jane didn't know much about Special Forces but she knew that N7s were the best of the best. Jane snuck a look to her right and she noticed that her sisters seemed as amazed as she was.

"Your Drill instructor here was kind enough to organize two games for today. All the squads against each other for the first and a free for all in the second."

"And we are going to be using the second arena recruits, so you are fighting in unknown terrain." Said Gonzalez

A free-for-all. Now that sounded like fun. The corners of Jane's lips curled into a small smile. This was going to be a great day.

**One hour later**

Jane led her team through the airlock. As soon as Jane cleared it she stopped. This arena was massive, easily three times larger than their usual arena.

"Wow" muttered Jaden, talking to no one in particular.

"No kidding" responded Hannah

"Let's move people, we have three minutes on the clock before the match begins." Ordered Jane

Everyone nodded and followed her as they sprinted into the miniature city.

The buildings were much larger than they were at first arena, but there was only a few. It left this arena more exposed than the last one.

However there was one building in particular that towered above the rest. It seemed to be a remake of the Empire State building back in New York City, though obviously not as large. Jane frowned, like she needed a reminder of her old life out here.

"Thirty seconds remaining until match begins." Called out the VI

She signaled her team into the building. Jane knew that Kate was in here somewhere, it had the best view in the arena. Jane wanted everyone in cover before Kate went on her sniping spree.

"Match has begun." Called out the VI

Jane's team took it nice and slow. Clearing floor by floor, and there was no sign of anyone. It was too quiet.

A shot rang out, followed by a second. It was a sniper, and it sounded like it came from someplace close to the top of the building.

"It sounds like Kate has gotten comfortable, be careful. Her team could be anywhere." Jane said, as quietly as possible.

Everyone nodded and started up the stairs to the next floor.

This time the doors were closed, a huge red flag.

"Benny, open the door … carefully."

Benny nodded and slowly opened the door and then fell over backwards as a shot rang out, Blue paint covering his helmet.

Jane frowned, it was a kill zone.

Suddenly Hannah kicked the door open. Jane thought that Hannah was as good as dead but as the shot went off Hannah had used some sort of biotic barrier, shielding herself and most likely saving her life as she dived for cover.

Jane's team was able to pin the vanguards once they were able to see them. The fight was brief but Hannah got shot in her right arm, though she wasn't dead.

However they only got two of them, the third one managed to dive its way past all the gunfire.

Jane was tempted to pursue but something felt off. She motioned everyone backwards back the way they came.

Thankfully Benny was the only 'death', Jane moved him towards the wall and put him in a position that would let him sit comfortably.

"Sorry" she said as he tapped his helmet.

Her team started their assent again, but they never encountered the mystery survivor. They made it to the top of the building and found no one there. Jane was nervous; this had to be a trap. On instinct she dropped to the deck, and her instincts rewarded her as a gunshot passed where her head was a moment ago.

Jane rolled onto her back and fired her shotgun several times at the doorway onto the roof. A body fell over with several 'gunshot wounds' in the torso.

Jane got up and discovered that Jack was not as lucky as her. Jack had been standing in front of her and took the bullet to the neck.

_Poor bastard didn't even see it coming._

Jane put Jack into a more comfortable position and was about to leave him there when she got a bright idea.

She put Jack's 'corpse' into a position that looked like he was sniping but was visible to anyone who looked at the roof of the building.

Jane pointed to her team's best sniper and said "Use him as bait. Take out as many as you can."

Her sniper … Rebecca … nodded and took position near some crates, giving her a good view and hiding her pretty effectively.

"Jaden guard her"

"Yes Ma'am"

Jane was going to use the buildings height to make a mental map when she noticed something in the corner. When she approached it she discovered several climbing ropes with d-links attached. One of the D-links was missing however, showing that it had been used.

_So that's how she did it._

There were seven useable ropes left when she got an idea.

"Alright people, this is our new HQ. See if you can start getting fortifications made!" she barked

Everyone except Rebecca and Jaden started to move. Jaden was still guarding the only access point, and Rebecca was still scouting the area out.

Suddenly a shot rang out and Jane could see Jack's 'corpse' move a few inches backwards. Rebecca fired her own shot and Jane could hear her start chuckling.

**Gonzalez's POV**

The match was slow going, which is what he expected considering an N7 was watching the match, causing the recruits to be extremely patient and cautious. Gonzalez to be honest was actually kind of bored. Usually these things were blood baths, especially when Jane was in charge of a team.

"See anything interesting?" asked Anderson

"Not really, a few 'dead' recruits here and there. You?" he responded

"Yeah, it looks like one the recruits is using her dead teammate as bait on the Sniper perch." Retorted Anderson, his voice trying to contain a chuckle.

Gonzalez's brows arched as he walked over to Anderson's view screen.

Gonzalez could see the camera that was positioned over the doorway to the roof of the largest building known as the 'Sniper perch' for obvious reasons.

The camera showed an entire team fortifying the top. Each person's idea tag shown above their heads.

"Red team, why am I not surprised." He muttered

"What does that mean?" asked Anderson, being completely serious

"Jane has a reputation for … brutal tactics. Using a 'corpse' is definitely her style." He responded

"Got something against her?" Anderson asked

"Not at all, she's one hell of a recruit. She is the strongest of them all and she is terrifying. Hell half of my men are scared to death of her."

"Really?"

"Oh you have no idea. She and her sisters grew up in the slums of Earth, right outside of New York City. They were all orphaned at five years old when their mother died in a factory explosion. I don't even know what kind of strength it takes to survive that hell."

"Five years old?" Anderson asked his eyes as wide as saucers.

"Yeah, rumor has it that they revolutionized one of the gangs and gave it the power it needed to control the slums outside of the city."

"They were allowed into service?" Anderson asked, his eyes darting back to the image of Jane commanding her troops.

"Never got convicted of anything. Jane however was interrogated from everything between petty theft and murder. Rumor has it that Jane was this figure named the 'Red Demon' which is self explanatory, but again we can't prove anything." Gonzalez replied casually

"How do you know all this?"

"A co-worker lost a kid to this person. Started doing all this research trying to track her down in her spare time. When she started putting the dots together I had her transferred before she could realize Jane was what she was looking for, after all she had no definitive proof and I didn't want her causing problems."

"Do you think Jane isn't her?"

"I don't know. She matches the physical description and fits most of the psych profile but one thing is missing."

"What?"

"The 'Red Demon' is supposed to be one hell of a biotic. When the recruits arrived the doctors said no one had an implant. Biotics are not supposed to be able to do much of anything without an implant, right?"

Anderson didn't respond. He just looked over the monitors deep in concentration.

"So have you narrowed down the list of potential recruits?" Gonzalez asked

"A little, the triplets are on the list if you were wondering."

"I was. They are some of the best recruits I have ever trained. They all deserve consideration."

"What about Jason, you have him as first squad leader."

Gonzalez grumbled a response.

"What was that?"

"His mother is an Admiral." Gonzalez said, bitterness coloring his voice.

"Oh"

"Yeah, he has talent but not as much as the triplets. Plus the triplets' defense of the biotics has a lot of my co-workers marking them down a bit in their evaluations. Its holding them back, but I can't prove anything about Jason's rise or the Triplets fall from their graces. I signed up for this to avoid political bullshit."

Anderson chuckled, but not in the enjoyment and laughter kind but more of the pity kind.

Anderson suddenly brought his face closer to his monitor and said "I'll be damned."

**Jason's POV**

Jason was swearing under his breath. The triplets had been causing more trouble than they were worth.

Sniper fire had pinned his squad, then they were flanked immediately by Grey Team.

_Abbey_

Thankfully the sniper was on another team and had shot at Grey team as much as his own.

Nine of his guys were left, but they had managed to take cover in the largest building. They had started their assent up as the sniper was most likely on this building.

Not only did Jason want this asshole dead he wanted the real estate. This tower had the best view of the arena and his snipers should be able to make quick work of the other teams.

All they had found so far on their way up was two blue and one red 'corpse'.

_Who controls the tower Jane or Kate?_

Jason couldn't decide which one he wanted more, Kate was better at long range than short so he could finish her off easily. However he really wanted to put a bullet into Jane to show her that she isn't top dog.

He was sick of her being on top no matter who outranked her. She had the audacity to threaten to break him in front of everyone. She feared no one, and everyone including himself feared her. It had to stop; he needed to prove himself to the Drill instructor and to himself.

They had just reached the top of the stairs; he motioned Hector and Sabrina forward to prepare for the breach. Just as Hector turned the door knob hell broke loose.

The door was kicked out of its hinges and it sent him and everyone behind him rolling down the stairs.

His entire team was sprawled under the door.

Jason brought up the door and it acted as a shield for the incoming fire that rained on his team.

As soon as his entire team rolled to safety he did as well.

Jason motioned his team behind some of the desks that gave a perfect view of the stairwell. Everything was quiet, too quiet.

Jason heard several windows break and he turned to see half of Red team dangling on climbing ropes. His eyes went wide as Red Team started to open fire.

_BITCH!_

**Gonzalez's POV **

"Wow" was all he could say.

Gonzalez was unaware that D-Links and climbing ropes were even up there.

_Must have been the last group that used this place, probably forgot them._

"That's not what I was expecting. Looks like the girl has grown a bit." Muttered Gonzalez

"Grown from what?" remarked Anderson

"Usually the girl sacrifices her team to accomplish their objective. Looks like Jane wasn't satisfied by that anymore."

"Well they have nowhere to go but down now." Remarked Anderson

Gonzalez watched as the entire team doubled time it down the fifteen remaining stories.

Thankfully they weren't shot at, the ropes had safety features installed but still … a fifteen story drop is a fifteen story drop.

"Alright MOVE OUT!" cried Jane to her team

The entire team moved out through the town taking things nice and steady.

Gonzalez looked at the counter at the top of the screen.

Red: 14

Blue: 12

Grey: 10

Yellow: 0

This was still anyone's game, well expect Jason's of course. Gonzalez cursed at himself, Jason was good and he still deserved to be a squad leader just not first squad leader.

_That's definitely Jane's spot._

However movement on the roof of the snipers nest caught his attention.

He saw a lone figure in Blue armor climb up from below. Gonzalez's mouth dropped to the floor. He already knew who that was and was extremely surprised by the amount of balls she had to climb up the building, even if it was only part way, without a safety harness.

Kate slowly approached one of the recruits and using a silenced pistol put him down and dragged his corpse behind a crate before anyone saw.

Suddenly three more of Blue team climbed their way onto the roof. They took cover and then unleashed hell on the Reds. Red team was completely unprepared for the attack. Everyone was dropped instantly expect for Jaden, Hannah, and Rebecca. They were able to take two Blues down but more burst from the stair well. Another blue was downed but so was Jaden.

However Hannah put up a barrier that shielded both her and Rebecca for a few seconds and were able to kill another Blue and warn Jane.

"FUCK!" screamed Jane over the comm.

Before they could say anything else Hannah and Rebecca were down.

Gonzalez looked back over to the counter.

Grey: 10

Blue: 8

Red: 7

Yellow: 0

Damn, Red had just lost half their team in a matter of seconds, but Blue team did pay a little for their now reclaimed sniping tower.

"Jane and Kate are good." Chuckled Anderson

"So is Abbey, I'm surprised she hasn't made her move yet. Where is her team?"

"That's the best part."

"What?"

"Abbey's team is holding out in one of the warehouses but look right there." Anderson said as he pointed to the radio tower in the center of the roof of the snipers perch.

Gonzalez looked as was shocked to see some gray armor sticking out from on top of the radio tower.

"I'll be damned, has she been there this whole time?"

"Yeah, she was there before Kate was there the first time. She is using the radio tower to piggyback on her sisters' transmissions and using the height to coordinate her team."

"What do you think is going to happen when her sisters' find out she was under their noses this whole time."

Anderson laughed at that.

Red Team was slowly crawling their way back to the tower in the miniature sewer system underneath the entire complex. Bright idea, staying out of the streets, avoiding Kate's sharpened sniper skills.

Abbey guided her team, two at a time, through Kate's blind spots. Grey team soon arrived at the tower, without any casualties.

Grey team advanced up the tower relatively quickly knowing that there weren't any hostiles.

Instead of attacking though Grey team hid in several of the crates inside, waiting for Red Team to try and get vengeance.

Red Team eventually arrived, but Jane was missing. Gonzalez wasn't surprised Jane was a bit of a lone wolf.

One of the remaining biotics on her team generated a biotic shield around him, pumped his shotgun and ran up the stairs.

Gonzalez arched his brow at that one. It was suicide at best but it gave Red Team the advantage it needed as the guy was able to take three Blues down before he died. It confused and scattered the rest of Blue Team. Red Team mopped up the rest taking two other casualties.

Gonzalez stole a peek at the counter.

Grey: 10

Red: 4

Blue: 1

Yellow: 0

That was surprising but not that much. Guess Kate must have climbed down.

Just as sudden as Red's attack was Grey's attack. However it seemed that the Reds got a split second warning and was able to get into cover just as the attack began. Grey team was expecting them to be completely unprepared and was hard hit by the counter attack Red Team launched. Six of Gray Team died before the Reds could be finished off.

However on the counter Red still had one person remaining.

From somewhere to the right of the remaining Grays Kate sent two rounds straight into the helmets of her targets. Before the last one could move a shotgun blast from the stair well ended him. Jane burst from the door and shot three rounds at Kate, forcing Kate to take cover.

Jane sprinted to her sister, pulled her from cover and flung her half way across the roof. Jane was about to finish her off when both Kate and Jane stiffened … and new gray spots adorned their helmets.

**Jane's POV**

"FUCK!" she screamed into her helmet as the VI declared that Gray Team had won.

Her armor became limber again and Jane nearly threw her helmet off, not being able to get it off fast enough.

Kate looked just as confused when she took her helmet off.

Suddenly a loud whistle was heard and Jane was drawn to the noise.

There Abbey was, sitting on top of the radio tower.

Jane's lower jaw might as well have hit the floor.

"What!?" She screamed

Abbey started laughing as she climbed her way down. Jane waited for her to get down.

Abbey stood in front of her sisters, a grin from ear to ear.

"How?" asked Kate

"I got there before you got here the first time Kate. I used the radio tower to hack into your transmissions and used the height to plan."

Jane hung her head in shame. It was disgraceful. Abbey was under, really over, their noses the whole time. Jane would not make that mistake again though.

They all started back to the barracks for the four hour rest period. Jane had to smile though; the rest of this day was going to be interesting. They had never done a free-for-all before, and Jane was really looking for it.

Hello, sorry it took so long to update but it was really hard for me to do this chapter. I'm not really great with the whole boot camp thing as you can guys can probably tell. Well, only one more chapter about boot camp I think. Then it's off to more interesting things. I'm going to try and update at least every Saturday, we'll see how that goes.

Just so there is no confusion each squad in the last match had fourteen people, I'm pretty sure the numbers in the match add up correctly.

I apologize for any grammar and spelling mistakes I missed and I hoped you enjoyed.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello everyone and welcome to Chapter Three of the Family of Three. I hope you enjoy and review. Please feel free to PM it you want.

**Kate's POV**

Of course the free-for-all had a catch. It just had to be CQC arena didn't it. That was Jane's area of expertise not Kate's.

Kate took another peak from the one sniping perch she could find and almost bought it right there. Kate moved her head back just before a round sailed past her and splattered on the wall behind her.

Kate had been stuck in this position for most of the battle, but that really hadn't been that long. Kate's timer said the match had been going on for about ten minutes.

Suddenly Kate heard several recruits start screaming. Kate decided to risk looking out and was not pleased with what she saw. Jane was ripping through about five different recruits below.

Jane rewarded each recruit who was stupid enough to engage her in close quarters with a series of well timed strikes that sent them straight onto their back before she blew their 'brains' out. The 'battle', or slaughter depending on your view point, lasted about a minute. It was over before it had begun; Jane was a Goddess when it came to CQC. No one was her match in here and Kate knew that Jane knew that.

Kate was about to bring her rifle to bear when Jane suddenly took off running and disappeared from her view.

Thankfully Jane had run away from her so Kate wasn't worried about being thrown of the building … at least not for now.

Kate sat there waiting. Some of the recruits thought she was cowardly for just waiting but Kate was a sniper, and snipers were patient not stupid.

It was another five minutes before Kate saw anyone else. A figure stalked out of the shadows. Based on their height Kate knew it must have been Jason. Kate brought her rifle to bear when suddenly he opened fire to his flank. Kate discovered one of the biotics had been hiding there. She thought that person was as good as dead but they brought up a biotic shield and used it to block Jason's shots.

Jason, while still firing his weapon, starting to get closer to make sure the biotic didn't get away. When Jason got too close however a biotic explosion rang out and Jason was tossed a good ten feet. He brought his pistol to bear but the biotic knocked it out of his hand then shot him several times in the head.

_It must be Hannah_

Hannah had gotten the brunt of Jason's bigotry and she herself had confessed her hatred of the man several times during the brief amount of time she had been here. She claimed he acted just like her father and that she absolutely hated her father. Guess it was time for Hannah to get some revenge.

Hannah was about to walk away when she ran back and kicked Jason right in the head. Kate heard the armor crack and she knew then that Hannah had just made it so much worse for the biotics. Jason would want vengeance for that.

Kate continued to watch, forgetting she was in a combat situation when Kate heard the retort of a shotgun.

Hannah was knocked her feet but was still alive. Hannah brought up another biotic barrier just in time to block Jane's second shot. Jane unloaded another shot into it but the shield held strong. Jane started to bring her fists down on the barrier and Kate could see the very feint outline of blue on Jane's fists.

_Jane is using her biotics; is she fucking stupid!?_

Jane continued to pound away on Hannah and Kate was surprised when the barrier exploded sending Jane flying. However Jane was not out of the fight yet as she was able to shoot Hannah in the shoulder as she was propelled away.

As soon as Jane hit the floor she was back on her feet. Jane closed the distance between Hannah and engaged in hand-to-hand.

Hannah did a surprisingly good job with keeping up with Jane but Hannah didn't stand a chance.

When Hannah realized she was losing she tried to focus her biotics into a powerful biotic punch and swung and Jane. Jane caught it however and to say Hannah looked surprised would be a monumental understatement. Jane took advantage of the situation and flipped Hannah over then finished her off with a bullet to the head.

Kate brought her rifle to bear when she felt her gut tingle … and then heard a light footstep behind her. Kate reacted of instinct, turning towards her attacker. She grabbed hold of their armor and pulled both of them off the short building. It was a short fall but Kate was just as unprepared for her actions as her enemy was so her breath was knocked out of her.

Kate struggled to get a breath and from what she could see her enemy was having the same problem. In fact when she looked closer she noted that her attacker was none other than Abbey.

_Of course it's Abbey_

Kate managed to start breathing again when she heard a shotgun go off … and Abbey's helmet got a bright new red paint job.

Kate looked up into the barrel of Jane's shotgun.

_Shit_

The shotgun lowered a bit and shot a round into her chest. Kate was thankful for this as point blank rounds to the head hurt quite a bit. Kate had to smile at her older sister's small mercy.

"Match over"

_Already?_

Kate felt her armor limber up and Kate stood up and pulled off her helmet.

Kate turned towards Jane and arched her brow, needing nothing more to ask the question on her mind.

"You know I work fast." Was all Jane said

"Fair enough" Abbey responded

"Jane how did you do that?" asked Hannah who approached the group

"Do what?"

Kate mentally groaned, she had been hoping that Hannah would ask later, giving them time to make an excuse.

"Catch my biotics punch, as soon as it hits something that something usually goes flying."

"I don't know to be honest."

Kate couldn't tell if Jane was lying or not. Jane may have not been aware of the fact that her biotics showed themselves, however slight. Jane had a reputation to … go a little crazy in CQC. The best analogy Kate had ever found on the extranet was Krogan blood rage, it wasn't a perfect comparison but it was not a bad one either.

Hannah, seemingly satisfied, left the sisters and started heading to the cafeteria.

Kate pulled Jane closer to her and whispered in her ear "Jane you used your biotics, are you crazy?"

Jane pulled away and gave her a questioning look.

_She doesn't know then._

Kate pulled her back and whispered "You used biotics to break through Hannah's barrier and to catch her punch."

"Shit"

"Yeah"

"Well nothing I can do about it now, anyone else hungry?"

"You have no idea." Answered Abbey, finally joining the conversation

The walk to the cafeteria was a quiet one, rare considering the sisters always loved talking … with each other at least.

"You stupid bitch, if it wasn't for your biotics I would have killed your ass!" screamed a very irritated Jason

"Well you deserve it, you've made my life hell here so if I can kill you a few times in the sim with the powers you feel are disturbing and unnatural I'll gladly take it." Answered Hannah

Kate groaned; it's like Jason couldn't go ten minutes without picking a fight with their resident biotics.

Jason had Hannah backed into a corner right outside the cafeteria and to her great surprise was actually brave enough to pick on the recruit without being surrounded by his army of bigots.

"Well well … it's almost like I've seen this before." Remarked Jane, sarcasm just oozing from her words.

Jason glanced over at the triplets and his grimace only deepened.

"Shut up Jane, I'm sick of having to deal with freaks that have the advantage here. I've worked hard but she can just use her powers to override everything I've ever worked for."

"Oh boo fucking hoo. Your feelings got hurt, well guess what you think she wants to be here either. No she doesn't, having to deal with ignorant little shits like you is more than enough to drive her crazy. The only real difference between her and yourself is that she doesn't whine, complain, and take out her anger out on others. You do that just because someone can't please their Admiral mommy."

Kate groaned; Jane always had a way of making bad situations worse.

"What did you say street rat?"

Kate's slight pity for the man disappeared as suddenly as it was created. The rich people on Earth often referred to the poor kids as street rats and Kate hated the name. But as much as Kate despised the name Jane hated it so much more.

Jane grabbed Jason's shirt and brought his face within an inch of hers.

"If I ever hear you say that again I swear I WILL break your jaw. YOU HEAR ME!" she screamed as she threw the recruit to the floor.

Kate was surprised; normally Jane just skipped the warning and would have actually broken their jaw to get them to shut up. Jane must have been in an exceptionally good mood today.

"Now get the fuck out of here, I've had enough of you to last the rest of the day." Jane ordered

Jason looked like he wanted to retaliate but he wasn't stupid. He knew that Jane would live up to her threats. So he repeated his usual pattern … he walked away with his tail between his legs.

"Damn that man, all he ever wants to do is pick a fight." Hannah commented, speaking to no one in particular.

"One more month to go." Kate replied, always sticking to the bright side of things.

Now that the fight of the day seemed to be over the triplets and all their friends enjoyed the peace of lunch time.

"Where are you hoping to be deployed Kate?" asked Jacob

"Haven't thought about it, what about you?" Kate responded

"I've been praying for a colony actually, I know it's not the assignment type you want if you're looking for advancement but I feel like it's where I belong."

Kate nodded, over the last five months Jacob had come to peace with Mindoir but he still had this burning desire to protect people who could suffer like he did. It was admirable, and Kate respected him for it.

"What about the rest of you guys?" asked Jordan, pointing towards her sisters.

Everyone but the triplets had a least mentioned where they hoped to be deployed, however the triplets had been dreading graduation for a long time. The thought of being separated from each other brought them nothing but pain.

"Don't know." Replied Abbey

"Don't want to think about it." Replied Jane

The rest of the group groaned, they had been trying to get the sisters to spill their guts for the last week and they had nothing to show for it.

"I'll be right back, need to use the restroom." Said Jane as she got up

The group continued their idle conversation for a few minutes when for some reason it got really quiet. Kate looked up to see that about a third of the recruits had quickly got up and left.

_Why, we still have a half hour before afternoon training._

The reason soon became obvious as Jason and some of his lackeys approached him.

_Well fuck_

"What now Jason, didn't my sister give you your daily verbal beat down already?" remarked Abbey

Kate eyed her sister disapprovingly.

"This isn't between us; I want to have a chat with our local freaks." Jason said, his tone laced with venom

"Not going to happen." Kate said in a non-threatening but forceful tone. These were her friends, and see wasn't going to leave them to dry.

"Better do what he says ladies, hate for something to happen." Remarked one of Jason's followers. She believed his name was Rogers.

Kate felt her hands curl into fists; she wasn't going to start anything but she sure as hell was going to defend herself and her friends.

"I'm going to give you one chance to walk away here." Sneered Abbey

Kate took the opportunity to analyze her opponents. It was a nine to thirty fight. Pretty terrible odds. Of course there was a catch … and it revealed itself when some of Jason's thugs pulled out knives.

Her entire group backed up a step or two, this was not a place that anyone of them wanted to go.

"HAHAHA … not so tough when your older sister fights your battles for you huh!" yelled Jason

"Fuck you Jason!" Abbey spat

The biotics started to charge their biotics but Kate knew that if this fight broke out they would lose. There were simply too many people opposing them.

One of the recruits next to Jason lunged forward and slashed at Kate. Kate expertly rolled backwards to avoid the slash. The fight had begun.

Kate grabbed her attacker's wrist and pulled. The recruit stumbled forward and she gave him a kick to the chest, sending him backwards right into one of the tables. She looked at her new prize, the knife she had taken from her attacker.

Kate noticed a kid lunging at Abbey. Kate threw her knife into the recruit, who screamed as she fell to the floor. The knife hit a non-vital area in her side so she would live … but it was still painful.

Kate was suddenly turned around to meet the fist of Jason himself. The punch was powerful, causing her to stumble backward, and Jason pressed his advantage by kicking her in gut. That caused her to double over; she was surprised on how powerful Jason was. Probably because Jane had ways of making him seem small and harmless.

Several of the biotics fell, all with minor wounds thankfully. It looked like Jason had told his people to use restraint not that it mattered … as soon as Gonzalez found out about this his ass was gone. She couldn't figure out why Jason thought he could get away with this.

All of that left her mind however as Abbey fell towards the floor screaming. Kate noticed a knife sticking out of her abdomen.

"ABBEY!" Kate screamed as she ran over to her wounded sister.

The knife was in deep but seemed to have missed any organs thankfully, but the knife wound was painful and if it moved around too much it might knick something.

Kate kept her sister still and stopped her from trying to pull out the knife.

_Damn it girl you know that won't help._

"What the hell is going on here?!"

Kate looked up to discover her sister standing in the doorway. Jane noticed Abbey and her injury. Jane's face contorted into an expression that made Kate shiver even though she knew it wasn't for her.

Suddenly a large screeching noise rang out; causing Kate to desperately try and keep the noise out by covering her ears … it didn't work. But as suddenly as it started it had just as quickly died away. Looking up Kate noticed that all the doors had been violently slammed shut … so violently most of them looked like they couldn't be opened.

_SHIT!_

Kate knew what was coming the moment she noticed her sister was covered in a bright blue aura. Jane was making sure no one could get away.

Some of the other recruits started drawing the same conclusion as her and they started to back away.

"SHE'S A BIO…"

Jason never got to finish that statement as Jane used her biotic charge ability to ram into him. He went flying, as limp as a rag doll in the air. His body made a nasty crack when he hit the wall. However after he hit the wall he started screaming so it appeared he hadn't died. Not yet anyway.

The other recruits charged her, hoping to bring her down with sheer numbers, but that worked out exactly as Kate had predicted … quite poorly. Just when the recruits got close enough to actually use their weapons a biotic explosion expanded from Jane's body. Sending five of the recruits in every direction.

In the confusion Jane started fighting hand-to-hand and excelled at it. She was bouncing from target to target breaking hands, wrists, arms, legs, anything that she could reach really. Kate noticed that no one had died though, which was a relief to Kate. The consequences would be slightly better now.

Jane started picking up speed as she rolled, jumped, dodged, and kicked. She was a blur in the crowd. It appeared that Jane was using her charge from kid to kid, in rapid succession. That caused Kate some concern.

_Don't biotics need to cool down just a bit between attacks?_

Jane didn't seem to have this problem. Jane was straight out charging between recruits, bodies were flying, bones were breaking, screams and moans could be heard. Of course the loudest screams, by far, were Jane's as she bellowed her rage to the world.

Kate doubled checked on Abbey and was surprised to see Abbey watching her older sister. Her face betrayed admiration and … horror?

Kate looked back up to see that Jane was finished with the recruits and was just standing there. Kate was alarmed by Jane's heavy breathing and the river of sweat that flowed from her body. It looked like she had just gone swimming.

Suddenly an explosion rocked out as one of the doors was breached.

"RECRUIT JANE STAND DOWN!" screamed out an MP as he ran into the cafeteria with his squad just behind him.

Jane didn't respond, just continued to stare at the broken recruit whimpering at her feet.

The MP pulled out some sort of restraints and approached Jane.

Realizing too late was about to happen she cried out "DON'T SHE'LL …"

Too late. The MP grabbed Jane's right arm as he tried to restrain her.

Jane quickly turned and used a biotic punch to send the man flying. Kate watched in horror as the MP squad opened fire.

Jane's barriers held and she just stared at them like they were a minor annoyance. Then started screaming as she charged them. As soon as Jane hit her target she jumped and rammed her fist into the ground. The air around her seemed to explode as she used some ability that Jane had never seen before. The MPs didn't stand a chance and soon they were all a heap on the floor.

Kate looked up to see every Gonzalez, Anderson, and every MP on the base sprint through the door.

A few of the MPs trained their weapons on Jane, but Jane didn't attack. Jane instead put herself between her sisters and the large mop of people. Jane assumed an aggressive but also defensive posture, one that screamed **BACK AWAY FROM MY SISTERS!**

"RECRUT JANE, I'M ORDERING YOU TO STAND DOWN!" bellowed Gonzalez

Jane started growling, warning them to back off.

Several more of the MPs raised their weapons when Anderson said "Wait"

Everyone had their eyes glued to the N7 as he slowly approached Jane. Jane started to growl even louder and charged her biotics again.

Anderson put his pistol on the floor and waited for Jane to calm a little before approaching her again. He stopped with a few feet of her.

"Jane it's alright, just calm down so we can talk, please." He asked in the kindest voice Kate had ever heard.

Jane stopped growling, but held herself in the same threatening manner.

"It's okay; I know you're afraid for your sisters. It's okay though, this isn't Earth. I know you've had to deal with this sort of shit before, but you're safe here, you and your sisters. You don't need to be afraid anymore." He said

A heartbeat went by as the room was motionless, Kate terrified at what her sister as going to do now.

Kate was stunned at Jane's next move. She actually hugged the man, using his shirt to stifle her sobs. The man rubbed her back in an effort to calm her down, one that actually worked.

Kate had never seen Jane give anyone other than her sisters a hug before, even when she was in a stable mindset, and even a happy mood. The strangest part was the tears though; ever since mom died Jane had never cried. Not even when … no, now was not the time for that memory to bubble up.

_What made this man so special I wonder?_

One of the MPs approached with hand restraints but Anderson shot him a rather angry face. The MP backed off slowly, his hands in an 'I surrender' pose.

Several medics started to walk around the room; doing everything they could to ease the pain of the victims here. One of the medics started to pull Abbey away from her when she started growling just like her older sister and the man stopped his attempts but still looked over Abbey's stab wounds. He gave Abbey a painkiller shot, waited a few minutes then pulled the knife out, sealing the wound with medi-gel. Abbey grunted with pain throughout the five second process, but then the painkillers kicked in causing the already exhausted girl to drift away into peaceful slumber.

The MPs started cleaning up the mess while Anderson and Kate helped an exhausted Jane to the Med-Bay.

**Anderson's POV Five minutes ago**

Anderson clicked the send button on his Omni-tool and his choice of candidates was sent back to Alliance Command. A shuttle would arrive in four days and take the sisters back to Rio while he was rotated back into action.

He had three spots available, which was a lot considering the norm but Anderson knew why. The Alliance had been ramping up the N7 program ever since the First Contact War. Thankfully the program didn't get easier throughout its expansion, meaning that even though there were more people were accepted to try the people who got through it were still just as good as their predecessors.

Anderson walked outside his room and was going to start heading for the cafeteria when a voice interrupted him.

"Something wrong Anderson?" asked Gonzalez

"Not at all, actually I just submitted my final picks for the N7 program, you already know the three."

Gonzalez chuckled at that, with pride seeping around the edges. Gonzalez let him know early on how proud he was of the triplets; they had outperformed all of the recruits and other Drill instructors during their brief stay and that was only where part of the respect came from. Gonzalez had said that he respected the girls the most for surviving Earth since five. Anderson had to agree with the feeling.

Suddenly Gonzalez brought up a hand to his ear and listened for a few minutes before his face went pale.

"What's wrong?" Anderson asked, worry creeping into his voice

Gonzalez started running and Anderson followed quickly in pursuit.

"The cafeteria doors have all been jammed shut. Something is wrong. Security thinks a fight just broke out!"

When the pair arrived they discovered several squads of MPs trying to get the door open. It didn't look like they were getting anywhere based of the profanity falling from their mouths.

Out of nowhere something started screaming, but not in agony … in absolute rage.

"SHIT! Get that door opened now!" Gonzalez yelled

"We can't, whatever did this did an incredible job. It's going to take some time to cut it open." Replied one of the men cutting through the door.

The screaming continued to gain volume and Anderson now recognized the voice.

_Jane_

"Blow the door in then!" Gonzalez retorted

"Sir I …"

"We don't have time for arguments here; something is going on behind that door. BLOW OPEN THE GOD DAMN DOOR!"

The MP nodded and started arming a breach charge. When he was done he motioned every one back except for his squad, who was going to breach the room.

"3…2…1… MARK!" the MP yelled

The door blew off its hinges and everyone waited for the team to give the all clear … it never came.

"RECRUIT JANE STAND DOWN!" yelled one of the MPs

"DON'T SHE'LL …"

The terrible screaming started again and Anderson started to run towards the door. Anderson took a peak around the corner and was shocked at what he saw. Jane just used biotics to charge several of the MPs then toss them around like rag dolls.

_She's a biotic?!_

Anderson ran in, with all of the others following him.

Jane positioned herself between him and her sisters, one of them with a knife sticking out of her abdomen.

_She must have been protecting her sisters._

"RECRUT JANE, I'M ORDERING YOU TO STAND DOWN!" bellowed Gonzalez

That was not the right thing to say as Jane started to growl like an angry animal, and Anderson knew this one had claws. This was not the right approach.

"Wait"

Anderson slowly started to walk towards Jane but stopped when the blue field became visible again. Anderson was terrified; this girl was easily the most powerful human biotic he had ever met, though that number was really small. However the girl seemed to at least have the biotic strength of that Krogan mercenary he killed, Skarr, during the raid on Camala. This meant it could get very complicated if Jane attacked him.

Anderson slowly put his weapon down and waited for Jane to calm down.

"It's okay; I know you're afraid for your sisters. It's okay though, this isn't Earth. I know you've had to deal with this sort of shit before, but you're safe here, you and your sisters. You don't need to be afraid anymore." He said

When Jane lunged forward he thought he going to be in a world of pain, but was surprised immensely when he realized Jane was holding him in a tight hug, and was muffling her cries with his shirt. He rubbed her back in an effort to get her to calm down.

He heard footsteps behind him and he turned to see a MP approaching with restraints.

_Is this guy really that stupid?_

He shot the man a threatening glare and the man backed off.

He held Jane until the sobbing stopped as she slowly released him. He smiled at her, and with Kate's help, brought her to the med-bay.

**Jane's POV Three days later**

Life had been hell for her ever since the 'Lunch Time Massacre' occurred. That wasn't really a fair assessment in her opinion though, it's not like anyone actually died.

Jane was a little surprised by the injury report; all of the recruits she fought against suffered at least one broken bone each. Some people like Jason suffered several broken bones.

_The bastard deserved it._

The MPs wanted to arrest her but Anderson insisted of performing his own investigation before anything happened.

She was so happy to have the man here, it turns out he is a lot more useful than just a shoulder to cry on. Her sisters were surprised by her actions with Anderson but she wasn't. Anderson was the first to realize that Jane was what she was because she was afraid, not angry. He actually understood what her sisters did not. It was a comforting thought.

However while she gained her first emotional release in a long time she wasn't sure if it was worth it.

The doctors had bugged her non-stop when they realized that she was the first human to be able to use biotics effectively without an implant … and of course one of the first things they did was put her on the list to receive an implant. They had asked endless questions, preformed endless tests, and just annoyed the hell out of her. The only reason that she put up with it was that she was too weak the first two days to fight back; in fact she had been drugged out of her mind for the last two days as the doctors monitored her. Turns out that using her biotics the way she did was extremely draining and unhealthy.

She would normally say she didn't need the implant but the side effects of this battle proved otherwise. The only times her biotics came out to play was when she was in a great deal of emotional stress … such as your sister getting stabbed in the gut. In fact she had only used her biotics a handful of times ever since they revealed themselves. Maybe this was a good thing after all. Plus the doctors said it could help with the exhaustion, a least a little bit.

However there was no good side to being placed under house arrest. The MPs claimed that she attacked first and should be punished for it.

Her sisters and her friends explained what really happened, that she was defending them, but the MPs refused to listen. Jane had a feeling it had to do with the prejudice against biotics … and maybe because of the fact she sent several MPs to the Med-Bay as well.

Anderson was running his own investigation but there wasn't much hope to be honest. The security cameras were mysteriously deactivated the whole time. That left it up to both sides pointing fingers at each other. It was thirty regular humans versus ten people, most of which were biotics. Again the odds were against her.

Jane was sitting in one of the offices, the Med-Bay too full for such a minor injury, being treated for a bullet wound she got when fighting off the MPs. It wasn't really that bad but the doctors were being extremely protective and clingy over her thanks to her abnormality.

Suddenly the door opened revealing a very angry officer being trailed by Gonzalez. Jane noticed the Admiral bars on her uniform.

_Fuck, and here I thought that things couldn't get any worse._

Rear Admiral Charlotte Walker of the 63rd Scout Flotilla, the mother of Jason Walker.

"Why the fuck is she not in chains Drill instructor! I saw the reports, she beat down THIRTY recruits and FIVE MPs!" she yelled

"Jane Shepard's actions are still under investigation as Anderson and I believe Jane did not start that fight but was defending her sisters and friends."

The Admiral didn't respond to him but put herself within an inch of Jane and said "Do you have any idea what you've done; my son is being treated for SEVENTEEN BROKEN BONES! I swear to God if you all started that fight I'm going to make sure that you spend the rest of your life in a cell. DO YOU HEAR ME?!" she screamed

Jane inched her way off the table she was sitting on and was surprised that the Admiral was about the same height as her. She was considered somewhat tall for a girl and was surprised to find it anywhere else other than her sisters.

"You're lucky your son isn't in the morgue … Ma'am." Jane snarled, being rather brave to speak to a resentful Rear Admiral in such a way.

The Admiral did not like that one bit. Her eyes narrowed and her face started to color with rage when Jane spoke.

"While he didn't personally stab my sister his little gang sure did. And I know for a fact that he injured some of my friends when HIS GROUP ATTACKED. The last time anyone was stupid to attack my sisters let's just say a stain on the floor doesn't even cover it." Jane sneered

"Are you threatening my son?" The Admiral replied, the question laced with hatred

"No, I'm just telling a little story. If I wanted Jason dead I would have just snapped his little neck in the cafeteria. It would have been easy."

Jane took a quick glance at the Drill instructor … he was terrified of this woman and she could see why. But she had long passed being afraid of others, all it ever did was get her people hurt.

A long moment of silence passed in the room when the door opened again. This time it was Anderson followed closely by the ranking MP on the base.

Anderson was a hard man to read, his face refused to betray even the slightest hint of his investigation. He saluted the Admiral and she gave him a salute back.

The Admiral turned and spoke "At ease. Anderson … your seventy two hours are up. Have you found anything to prove what happened one way or another?"

"Yes Ma'am I have. Jane Shepard and her associates are telling the truth. They're innocent."

"Bullshit!" said the MP

"Quiet!" the Admiral snapped at him. "I'm surprisingly open minded in this situation as I am aware of my son's … prejudices. Continue Anderson."

"As we all know the cafeteria camera was … offline. However Mess Sergeant Burns had hidden a camera above the shelf as someone had been breaking into the cafeteria at night and taking rations. It had a perfect view."

Jane chuckled in her mind. Of course her late night raids in the kitchen had helped her.

Anderson pulled up the video and played it, showing Jason's standoff. When Jason and his people pulled knives the Admiral shook her head in disappointment. The video showed the one way battle that Jason lead against her sisters, Abbey getting stabbed, then Jane arrived.

Jane watched attentively as she couldn't remember what happened.

The slaughter was brutal and Jane was surprised that she simply hadn't just died from her biotic usage. The output was incredible, the doctors had said something about her almost burning out her nervous system … and now she knew why.

When the video ended the Admiral turned around and said "Looks like you're off the hook Jane."

"What? She still attacked five of my men!" yelled the MP

"I'd say mental trauma after having to fight off thirty attackers with knives and before you try to argue the issue … don't."

The Admiral turned back to her and said "However this does not make us friends, you still hurt my son even though he brought it upon himself. So don't count on me to save your ass next time."

"Yes Ma'am" replied Jane, with no sarcasm in her voice.

"Now if all of you would excuse me I have to go fix this mess and deal with my idiotic son."

The Admiral turned and left and the MP followed her, disappearing back into the boot camp.

"Anderson … thank you." She said

Anderson walked up and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're welcome."

"Before we go any further I need to ask. Why did you withhold the fact you're a biotic?" said Gonzalez as he moved to stand behind Anderson.

"Incidents of this nature were why. Plus I was never asked if I was a biotic, I was asked if I had or needed a biotic implant. The answer to that question was no, so I never actually lied. In fact I didn't even bend the truth." Jane replied with an innocent shrug.

Anderson started to chuckle and Gonzalez narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, clearly not amused.

"Does it really matter Gonzalez, we have four other biotics here. What does one more matter?" Anderson said

"I can't just do what I want. I have orders to follow."

"True, but I think I have a way around that." Anderson said before turning to Jane. "Jane Shepard, I formally extend an invitation to train at the Interplanetary Combatives Training Center."

"The N7 Program?" Jane asked, her eyes widening in shock.

Jane had heard only the best of the best get to train there, left alone actually become N7s. To be asked was an extreme honor.

"No" was all she said

Anderson looked shocked and Gonzalez's jaw hit the floor.

"No?"

"Yeah, I'm not leaving my sisters behind, especially here."

"Oh… well you don't have to worry about that, I was going to invite them too."

"Oh … well in that case I accept." Jane hurriedly replied, her cheeks turning a bright pink when she realized that she had made an ass of herself.

Anderson chuckled again.

Anderson left, most likely to give her sisters the good news. Jane was dumbstruck, she always knew that she had talent as a soldier but didn't realize she was that good.

"Jane" muttered Gonzalez

"Yes Sir?"

"I wanted to ask you something before you graduated, but now it seems like this is the last chance I'll ever get. Not that it's any of my business but … have you heard of a gangster back on Earth named the Red Demon?" he asked

Jane stiffened involuntary; she had hoped that her old life had died back on Earth. Now it appeared that her past might have just caught back up with her.

"I thought so. It's the past and I don't really care to be honest. I'm just going to warn you, people may one day connect the dots. Was it necessary …worth… being that … thing in order to survive?"

"If you know what I was you know why I was … Sir."

"I do, but not everyone will be so understanding. Before you start to worry the Alliance is completely unaware and I only came across hints of your former identity, I wasn't even sure for a long time … well until that display in the cafeteria."

"How did you find out Sir?"

"An accident and one that is not going to repeat itself." He replied

While that was supposed to be comforting Jane didn't feel all that relaxed. His answer was way too vague to bring her comfort.

Before Jane could ponder further the door to the Med-Bay opened with her rather ecstatic sisters on the other side.

"Anderson just told us the good news and he told us to start packing. The transport comes tomorrow. Ready to go out and be N7s?" cried out Kate in excitement

Jane smiled and said "Yeah, too bad it isn't going to be that easy. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Jane waited for her sisters to leave before she turned around and said "Thank you for your help, I won't forget it. But know that I regret only a little of what I did as that psychopath, I would do anything for my sisters. Consider that before you judge me Sir."

He replied with a gentle nod of the head and she turned to leave, when she was almost out of ear range she heard him say "Good Luck Jane."

**Jane's POV Next Day**

Jane was on the loading ramp of the shuttle that came to take them back to Earth. It had only been about five months when they got shipped here. This place had become her world, her home. Strange to think of a boot camp as home. Boot camp was meant to be a hell that prepared you for service, not salvation that saved one from their savagery.

Jane knew that she was off to bigger and better things, but it still hurt to leave.

"Jane, what's wrong?" asked Abbey from inside the shuttle

"Nothing" she replied

As the shuttle took off from Luna Jane couldn't help but watch as Earth rapidly approached.

_I joined the service to flee from Earth now it's sending me back there, ironic._

As the shuttle started its final descent Jane realized that maybe she was being given a second chance, redemption, salvation, whatever she wanted to call it.

The shuttle landed with a gentle thud, and Jane couldn't help smile at the thought that she was back on Earth, and actually happy to be there.

Oh how life can change so quickly.

I sincerely apologize for the delay with this chapter. Last week was rather busy and when I could get around to uploading this on Monday I thought it might be best I waited and kept a chapter in reserve, as I have already finished the fourth chapter. This way if I can't finish a chapter in a week I can still upload a chapter. So at least this shouldn't happen again.

Just to make this clear Anderson had already dealt with Skarr, Saren, and Kahlee canonically seven years before Shepard enlisted. I'm just saying this just because their might be some confusion at Anderson's slight thought about Skarr earlier.

Boot camp is over, thank God. I personally hated my boot camp though I knew it was necessary for the story. The good news is that things should be getting more interesting soon thanks to the ICT. Now that should be fun.

I apologize for any grammar and spelling mistakes I missed. Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions feel free to PM me.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hello everyone and welcome back to the Family of Three. I hope you enjoy the ICT experience as much as I enjoyed writing it.**_

**Jane's POV**

When Jane stepped out of the shuttle she was surprised to find about a hundred other recruits standing in the courtyard of 'the Villa'.

However what captured her attention was jungles outside the gates of the Villa. Trees that seemed to stretch into the sky … and all of them were green. Jane had never seen anything like this before being raised in the slums. It was beautiful.

Suddenly a man in what appeared to be heavy armor came out of the front door, followed by several others, all dressed in the same manner.

"Hello recruits. My name is Lt. Commander Lee and I will be your CO while you are here. I'm going to warn you now, most of you will not pass this course. Don't take this personally though as it is an extreme honor to be invited here."

Lee stopped for a moment, most likely to let what he just said sink in.

"Now the next month you spend here will be complete hell to be honest. There is a reason this facility is the best training ground in the galaxy. Alright everyone follow my second in command Staff Lieutenant Dupont here to the barracks so we can get you all settled in. Training starts tomorrow so you may want to get a good night's sleep."

"Yes Sir!" replied all the recruits

Jane was astounded by the facilities size. On the outside it looked like a small apartment building but the inside just kept going on and on. She assumed that the rest of the outside was camouflaged with the jungle or underground. Probably a mix of the two.

The medical facility was massive and seemed to be state of the art. It gave her even worse feelings about the Villa than what she got with the Med-Bay on Luna.

Jane's favorite part was the gym, that had transparent walls letting anyone using it have a full view of the jungle outside. It seemed the Alliance really loved to invest in the comfort of recruits and trainers, which was surprising considering that at its core this was a boot camp … just a very prestigious boot camp.

Suddenly they were in the barracks, but when they entered the wall above the door had 'New Bloods' printed on it.

Jane chuckled at that.

The barracks were slightly better than what was on Luna, but that was fine.

The beds were set alphabetically so she was near her sisters, but that was pretty standard fare as well.

"Recruit Jane Shepard please report to the Med-Bay" said Commander Lee over the comm.

Jane started looking through several of the exits trying to remember which way the Med-Bay was, a little embarrassed that she couldn't remember where she came from.

"This way" yelled Dupont

Jane ran to catch her as Dupont started walking towards the Med-Bay.

"Ma'am, do you have any idea what's going on?" asked Jane

"You're getting your implant."

"What, I thought I was on an eight month or so wait list … since three days ago."

"Special Forces has a way of cutting through red tape."

Jane was satisfied with that explanation and didn't ask further. The pair drifted into a comfortable silence.

When they got to the Med-Bay Jane was surprised so much was going on. A few doctors and several nurses were walking back in forth exchanging data pads while some of the other doctors supervised the nurses setting up equipment. Dupont had decided to leave, leaving Jane to this mess.

Jane knocked her fist on the side of the wall to announce herself.

"Ah welcome Jane. My name is Dr. Chakwas; it's nice to meet you." Said the Doctor while she extended her hand.

Jane grabbed it and was surprised by the strength the doctor had. Jane gave a squeeze before letting go.

"I have a few questions if you don't mind. I've read the reports and seen the footage from three days ago. How often do you use your biotics?"

"Not very often. My biotics … tend only to manifest themselves when I get angry. Really angry."

"Really? Most biotics tend to become less effective when their emotions take over … well except Krogan Battlemasters."

"So how long am I going to out Doctor?" Jane asked quickly before the Doctor could get lost in the medical significance of her unusual situation.

"You should be good to go in a few hours actually, the procedure itself doesn't take long and the high quality medical care here keeps you from being bed ridden. You'll be good by training tomorrow."

Now it was Jane's turn to be surprised. This surgery entails cybernetic components being attached to your nervous system, how in hell did someone recover from that in a few hours.

"I need to ask that you remove your clothes from the waist up then we'll get started." Said Chakwas as she was preparing her instruments.

Jane did as she was instructed and when she was done she was greeted by the sight of the Doctor staring at her body, with a hint of worry escaping her otherwise solid poker face.

"Something wrong Doctor?" her voice laced with a bit of venom as she knew where this was going.

"When was the last time you ate?"

"This morning, and before you ask no I do not have an eating disorder. A biotic growing up in the slums of Earth tends to be drastically underfed."

Chakwas rubbed her temple and replied "Well I'm not sure what to say, the training here is rather … difficult. I'm slightly worried that you'll starve to death."

"I've lived like this since I was five doctor, I think I'll manage." Jane said as she walked over to the surgical table.

Chakwas gave her a shot and before a minute was gone Jane was out cold.

**Three hours later**

Jane opened her eyes, and then closed them at the burning bright light.

"Too bright." She murmured

"Sorry about that. Try now." Answered a voice

Jane tried again, barely opening her eyes just in case. But there was no need as the lights were now at a comfy output.

"Thanks"

Jane opened her eyes fully and started to get up when a hand rested on her shoulder.

"Jane, take it slow." Said the comforting voice of Chakwas

"I'm fine, where are my clothes?"

"Here"

Jane realized how out of it she was when it took her a good five minutes to put her bra and t-shirt back on. However towards the end of she started to feel normal again.

Jane let out a yawn and stretched her arms towards the ceiling.

"How do you feel Jane?"

"Pretty good, you weren't kidding about the fast recovery in fact I feel … wait."

"Jane what's wrong?" Chakwas asked, her voice filled with panic

"Nothing's wrong just different."

Jane sure felt different. Jane felt like she could feel something pumping through her, it was soothing but it also brimmed with power. It almost felt like when red sand was in her system but without the side effects, positive and negative, of being high.

"It will take a couple of days before your biotics are ready to go however, the one consequence of this procedure, but they should be even stronger and you will be able to use them at any time."

Jane was a little surprised by that statement. It felt like her biotics were just begging to be used.

Suddenly Jane noticed that her entire arms started to glow a bright blue, and before she could stop it energy was radiating off her.

"Jane … what are you doing?" asked Chakwas

"Just using my biotics, it feels different though … soothing."

"How is that … oh my." Chakwas muttered

Jane looked where she was looking and was surprised to see all of the medical equipment floating in the air. There was everything from a simple scalpel to several hundred pound machines just floating in mid air.

Jane started to exert a tiny amount of control and was awarded by everything starting to fly, slowly, around the office, just gliding. The doctors and assistants seemed stunned into silence but Jane was amazed. She had no idea this is what normal biotics where like. It was incredible.

"I had no idea biotics were capable of this." Said Jane, to herself mostly.

"They're not. This is incredible; your level of power and control is astounding. I'm pretty sure Asari Matriarchs can't even accomplish this level of absolute control. Sure they can toss all of this around but they can't do this."

Jane was captivated, the amount of control and calmness in the floating pieces of equipment astounded her … time to see what she could do.

Jane's head suddenly felt like it was going explode. She was kneeling on the floor, head in her hands screaming.

Jane could faintly hear the sounds of screaming, shattering of glass, and crushing metal outside the hammering inside her own head. She felt like she was simply going to die when she felt a sharp pain in her neck … followed by sweet relief.

_Some sort of sedative._

Jane got up and said "Thank you"

Chakwas was staring at her with the signs of academic interest; while the rest of the staff looked terrified … ready to bolt through the door. Jane took a look around the room and noticed why. Everything that she had been lifting was absolutely destroyed. The largest machine she had been holding was now about the size of a beach ball. Jane was horrified, she had probably just destroyed thousands if not tens of thousands of credits worth of equipment.

"Doctor Chakwas I'm so sorry. My head hurt so much, I couldn't control myself." She blurted out

"Don't worry, the academy has funds for destroyed equipment. I've been told accidents happen in here almost constantly. While this is a bit more extreme … I don't think there will be any consequences, not in the way you're thinking of anyway. Don't worry you aren't in any kind of trouble. I'm just glad that you didn't do that" Chakwas pointed to the beach ball sized remains "to us. I'm sorry that happened to you. I have a feeling that I know the problem. I just need to calibrate the implants a bit more, however it might take awhile." She said as she guided Jane to one of the few intact chairs.

Jane was sitting down while the Doctor scanned her with Omni-tool and started to fiddle with it.

"Tell me about yourself Doc."

"Not much to tell dear, in fact I'm sure you'll find it quite boring."

"Pleeeeeaaaaasssee" begged Jane

"Oh alright. I've been a Doctor with the Alliance ever since I graduated Med School. I ended up deciding that the joys of seeing the galaxy were greater than being bored in some high end hospital getting more money than I'd know what to do with. Unfortunately for the next few years it appears that I'll be stuck here."

"Something wrong here?" asked Jane

"Not at all, it's an extremely respected position or so I've been told. I've only been here for a few months. It's quite beautiful here, it's comfy, and it does come with its own set of excitement. You don't realize how often you Special Forces people get injured. For being the best of the best you all tend to visit me a lot down here. While I'm flattered that you guys would get injured to come and see me so much it is slightly overwhelming occasionally."

Jane chuckled and then Chakwas continued.

What I truly love is being on a starship. Don't know why but I do, I always loved serving on starships. Which is where I was until a particular friend of mine made me accept this position. Haven't spoken to him in a few weeks as a reward for his stubbornness."

"That's good to hear, I was afraid that this place had some sort of dirty little secret that made this place hell on Earth." Jane responded

"The reason this place is hell on Earth to you recruits is never kept secret. You will always know why your lives are so difficult while you're her."

"Fantastic" Remarked Jane, her words drooling sarcasm.

"Well that there does it. Good luck Jane and I hope the rest of your stay is more pleasant than this." Remarked Chakwas as she turned towards all the destroyed equipment.

Chakwas also proscribed her on a dense vitamin and calorie supplement. Jane taking it was the only reason that Chakwas wrote her off as fit for duty. She would have to take two pairs of pill a day. Once when she woke up and once when she was about to go asleep. On top of that Jane had to come see her once a week.

When she left the Med-Bay Jane heard Chakwas say over her Omni-tool "Lee I have something amazing to show you."

Jane was half way back to the barracks when her growling and obviously angry stomach alerted her to how hungry she was. Thankfully Chakwas had called in ahead of her and the cooks were already making her food by the time she got there.

Jane ended up getting back in the barracks about an hour after lights out. Before Jane went to sleep she gently kissed both her sisters foreheads … her usual ritual that she had been doing since she was five. She originally did it so they wouldn't have nightmares, but she hadn't needed to do that in years … but old habits die hard.

**Morning Jane's POV**

Jane felt well rested. She sat up and breathed in the fresh air.

_Fresh air?_

Jane's eyes shot open and she discovered she was somewhere in the jungle.

_What?_

She looked down to see that she was in some sort of body suit and to her right and left were her sisters also in the same body suits. The suits were tight but not skin tight. The suit had a helmet, even with a detachable breather piece that was on the ground in front of her.

"Abbey, Kate. Wake up."

Neither of them stirred. Jane poked at Abbey a few times and thankfully she started to stir. Kate of the other hand was much more difficult.

"Sorry Kate."

And then Jane slapped Kate right across the face.

Kate rolled up and tackled Jane to ground. Jane didn't fight back, just waited for Kate to become fully aware.

"Wait what. Where are we, why am I in this, and why does my face hurt?"

"In the jungle, don't know, and I slapped you." Remarked Jane, her smile so large it looked like it was painful.

"Thanks" remarked Kate as she got up then helped her sister to her feet.

"Look at this." Said Abbey

Jane looked over to see that Abbey had a data pad in her hands.

Abbey turned it on and Commander Lee's face appeared.

"Hello recruits. Today is your first day of training. As you have noticed, hopefully, you are somewhere in the jungle outside the Villa. That area is a commonly used training ground so you don't have to worry about wild life, but what you do have to worry about are the N6 trainees looking for you. All of you have been split up into groups of three alphabetically. Your objective: stay alive as long as possible. To be honest you will be caught, it's just a matter of time. A word of warning though, each group is allowed to sabotage the other but if one of your teammates is 'killed' then a tracking beacon activates on the other two and your hunters have access to its real time location when it turns on. So to stay alive your team needs to work together. The body suits you are wearing act like the body armor in boot camp, parts that get shot go numb. I also recommend that you keep those breather masks on; no one wants to get shot with one of those rounds to the mouth. Though the N6s are wearing something similar, just in case someone actually manages to get their hands on a weapon."

Lee paused a moment to let this sink in.

_The man does sure love his dramatic pauses._

"Another problem you face is that you have no weapons, no Omni-tools, and every biotic was fitted with a temporary neural scrambler which block all biotics until we take it off tonight. And the suits go stiff if you go past the fences, and I will fail you out of the program if that happens. The only options you have are to run or hide. Good luck recruits, see you in a couple of hours."

And like the data pad turned off.

"Damn" was all Jane could say

The sisters stood there for a moment in disbelief.

_This is the way training starts?_

Gunshots started going off but it was hard to pinpoint where.

Jane tried her biotics, and was surprised by how difficult it was to concentrate let alone activate her biotics. Looks like he wasn't kidding.

"What do we do?" asked Kate

"Hide towards the top of the trees, should buy some time to come up with a better plan." Abbey responded, her tactical mind already starting to work.

Jane could hear Kate gulp, and Jane couldn't blame her, those trees were tall.

The climb had been terrifying, but well worth it. They had decent cover and the view was nice.

They found some rather thick branches about seventy feet high, so thick in fact that they could run on them. It was a long way down, but the three of them had climbed higher before.

"So, now what?" asked Kate

"We wait, and if we're lucky we can ambush someone and take their weapon. Then it's a last stand sort of affair from there. I can't come up with anything to get out of this, the odds are just so against us." Said Abbey shaky her head.

The triplets sat in silence in half an hour, listening to the occasional bursts of gunfire.

"When do you think they'll …"

And just like that Abbey's question was answered … by gunfire. Abbey broke to the left and Kate hid behind the trunk. Jane was about to grab Abbey when Abbey yelled out.

Jane turned in horror as she witnessed Abbey stumble of the edge as she got shot in the shoulder, ruining her balance, and caused her to fall.

Time slowed down as she reached out for Abbey and Abbey reached for her. Jane's hand was about to close around her sister's when she was gone. Too late.

Jane didn't hesitate. She threw herself off the tree at fell towards Abbey. They feel from seventy feet up, that was more than enough to kill them. Half way down Jane grabbed hold of her sister and finally noticed her attackers … who were busy enough shooting at Kate.

_THESE SHITS DON'T EVEN CARE THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE WELL AS KILLED US!_

Jane's blood started to boil and she could feel a familiar tingle at the back of her neck. Her rage continued to boil unto she felt something trying to make her lose focus, she brushed it off easily and she felt her power start to come back.

They were about a foot off the ground when Jane charged, still holding on to her sister.

Bam! She hit the first N6 and dropped Abbey on the ground now that she was safe. The first hunter went flying straight into a tree. They made a loud crash as they splintered part of the tree. Jane grabbed onto the second and third with her biotics and threw them against each other. They too made a satisfying crack. They didn't move, either they were dead or unconscious and Jane didn't really care to be honest.

Jane was standing there breathing hard, when one of them struggled to get up.

_Oh no you don't._

Jane grabbed her with her biotics and rammed her into the tree a good three times. She would have kept going in her sister's hand hadn't grabbed her fist and pulled it back.

"Jane … enough. It's alright." Said Abbey, trying to calm her down

"NO! IT'S NOT! THEY ALMOST KILLED YOU!" she screamed

Abbey pulled her in for a hug, not letting go until Jane stopped shaking.

"Thank you, I needed that. I love you"

"I love too." remarked Abbey

"Kate, its safe come down!" yelled Jane

It took a few moments for her sister to come down but when she did the first thing she did was pull both Jane and Abbey close, letting out a choked whisper "I thought I lost you two."

She pulled back then said "You two ever to that again I swear I will murder both of you."

"Yes Ma'am" Jane replied, seriousness gone from her voice.

Kate gave her a disapproving sigh when she noticed Abbey's 'wound'.

"Great, now what?" Kate asked

"Now it gets interesting." Remarked Abbey

"Why?" Jane asked

Abbey started to take off their attackers' armor.

"Because it looks like these girls are about our size."

Jane's grin turned into a devilish smile. She liked where this was going.

Thankfully for the three of them Abbey was right. All of their attackers were woman about the same height as they were. Jane thought there would be a problem width wise though. All of these girls were a healthy body size; the three of them were skinny.

To answer her doubts Abbey started to attach their armor to the outside of hers. It was almost a perfect fit.

It took about ten minutes but the triplets were now in N6 armor, with weapons, radar, maps, rosters, and orders.

One of the girls started to groan right before Jane put on her helmet. The girl looked at her hands, an expression of confusion on her face.

"Hi there sleepy head."

The girls head darted up.

"Goodnight"

And just like that Jane slugged her across the face, hard enough that Jane knew it was going to bruise.

"You enjoyed that didn't you?" asked Kate

"You have no idea." Replied Jane as she slipped her helmet on.

It turns out that when they captured a recruit they brought them to the center of the arena to tie them up like a bunch of tied pigs. It turns out this wasn't even supposed to be a mission for the N6s. It was some kind of present from the Commander as all these N6s were about to be sent into the combat zones across the galaxy.

There were fifty N6s, all going around rounding up recruits.

Abbey, when she read this, fashioned some sort of bags to put over their victims faces to give them a couple of seconds when they got there. Abbey even fitted each of them with a gag, just in case.

The girls all had about the same skin color as them but they all looked extremely different from each other and themselves. The bags were the only hope the triplet had for a surprise attack.

"Alright, let's go." Said Abbey

Abbey led the way, each person carrying a 'recruit' on their shoulders.

When they finally got there most if not all of the other recruits had been captured, all of the tied to the base of a giant tree, their armor stripped away, and gagged. They were all struggling to get free while the N6s sat laughing around, most of them with their helmets off.

The tree was a camping ground, complete with its own generator, refrigerator, and grill. Everything one needed in their own backyard barbeque.

"Hey look at that they're back. Hey Sydney, you get those triplets that Lee mentioned?"

The man was looking at her so she nodded.

"Good job guys. Nice idea with the bags, but them over there in the center.

Jane and hers sisters did as they were told.

"Now let's take off those bags and see those pretty little faces." Remarked one as he pulled off the bag.

He pulled out the first one and said "Hey what the fu-"

Jane grabbed the man, pulled him around as a bullet shield and opened fire. Her sisters followed her lead, each with their own hostage.

The N6s were fast though, while Jane and her sisters managed to down about ten the others got back to cover and returned fire. Thankfully the body shields worked as intended.

Jane let out a biotic dome that covered all three of them, the paintballs splattering against the shield.

"Get to cover, I'm going to drop this shield!" she yelled at her sisters

They did as instructed and when they did she dropped the shield and unleashed several biotic shockwaves at her opponents. Bodies went flying in every direction, most hitting the ground out cold.

However, what appeared to be the last survivor was desperately trying to get away.

Kate started to line up a shot when Jane said "He's mine."

And Jane charged. The unfortunate survivor was flung from her straight into the side of a tree, even Jane cringed at the crack.

It was over. Fifty special forces Commandos defeated by three girls fresh out of boot camp. In almost no time at all.

_That's what happens when you get over confident._

"Victory is sweet indeed." She remarked

"Abbey, start getting twine to tie these losers up, make some gags while you're at it." She said as she heard flows of profanity from the ones without helmets. They were helpless as long as the armor was immobilized.

"Kate … get the grill going. I'm hungry."

Jane walked up to her little meat shield, who to her great amusement was without a helmet.

"Who the hell are you; did Lee send you to play a prank on us?"

Jane took off her helmet and replied "No, one of the triplets. Nice job by the way I'm sure Lee will be impressed by the fact that three recruits took down fifty N6s."

He responded by spitting in her face.

_Bad move_

She wiped off the spit with the back of her hand. Then smiled devilishly while she said "Now that wasn't very nice."

"Go to hell."

"Such strong words. Sounds like someone needs a nap." she replied casually, as if she were speaing to a child.

"Don't you-"

And Jane had knocked out yet another N6. The feeling was indescribable.

She proceeded around to the rest of the new prisoners and knocked them out the same way.

_I haven't felt this good in years._

Abbey finally found enough rope to tie all of them up; turns out the N6s brought a lot to spare.

"Kate, how is the food going?"

"Great almost done here."

"Good"

**Lt. Commander Lee's POV**

Lee was walking the all too familiar path to the 'carnival'. The place where the N6s got to enjoy their last day of ICT before active duty. Following him were all of the training staff and Doctor Chakwas.

Though the staff enjoyed it too, it was a great way to spend time with their people before they left. Beer, hot dogs, burgers, and best of all real steak. It was also a great way to humble the new recruits as well.

Lee chuckled at the memory of when he spent his time gagged and tied to the tree, and when he was the one laughing around the campfire.

In fact the only one who didn't seem to approve of this was their new Doctor; she had called it 'Barbaric'. The only reason she came was to make sure that the minor injuries got tended too. While he would admit that while the N6s were a little rough they didn't do anything too bad … usually.

When they got close though he noticed that it was quiet … dead quiet.

"Something's wrong." He said

Everyone stopped moving and dropped to a crouch, training taking in. They all approached the camp site.

_I really wish Dupont and I weren't the only ones carrying._

He pulled out his pistol and started to lead the others. If the students were in trouble then they all needed to go armed or not.

When they reached the carnival Lee was shocked to notice that all the recruits and all of the N6s were tied up and gagged.

"What the hell happened here?" said Dupont

"Someone captured the N6s, watch you back."

"Correct there … Commander." Said a voice

The voice seemed to be scrambled, and that made Lee very uncomfortable.

"Show yourself!" he barked

Suddenly a slow clap started to fill the air. A lone figure walked around the tree, clapping sarcastically. It appeared unarmed, which was unsettling.

"Nice Commandos you have here Commander, best of the best huh." She said as she nudged Trevor's face with her foot, well at least Lee assumed it was a she based on the curves of their body.

"She's wearing the N6 training armor Sir. Pretty easy to see what happened here." Muttered Dupont, loud enough

"That means it doesn't have shields. Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now?" he called out

The figure just looked up, and so did he.

A sniper was hanging out of one of the branches, sniper aimed between his eyes.

_Damn_

When he looked back down a third hostile was standing there with an assault rifle trained on his group.

He gently laid his weapon on the ground and put his arms up, Dupont thankfully followed his lead. If it was just him and the trainers he would have made a dash into the jungle and made it back to base … but they had 152 hostages. They would die if he did that.

"Who are you?" he asked

The unarmed one, obviously the leader took a couple of steps towards him. They were about ten feet apart when she pulled off her helmet … revealing none other than recruit Jane Shepard.

"Recruit Jane Shepard, reporting mission success Sir." She said as she gave him as slow salute, sarcasm screaming from her body language.

"Tell me one good reason why I shouldn't have you failed at of the program for pulling a weapon on a superior officer?" he asked, not angry … curious.

"Well Sir, I found evidence that you turned on those tracking devices when we started, not when a team mate got killed. Handing us over to the enemy Sir … not nice. Had to assume you were hostile." She said, with no seriousness in her voice what so ever.

"Oh I really like this one." Muttered Chakwas.

_If it was me and this wasn't a simulation wouldn't I have done the same thing? And should I really be surprised that it was these three, especially after that fiasco on Luna._

Jane nodded to her sisters who lowered their weapons and took off their helmets. Kate also hopped down from the tree.

"You're telling me you took down fifty members of Special Forces?"

"Yes" Jane replied

"How?"

"Would you prefer it if I said magic Sir?"

_Talented and a smart ass, what a wonderful combination._

"After today yes but right now the truth."

"Dupont said it herself, it's kind of obvious. Turns out these guys are really trustworthy of people with weapons, who don't speak, and are wearing helmets … Sir."

Lee just stood there speechless. In all of his twenty years of training he had seen a total of three N6s taken down during this tradition. Three. Now all of a sudden THREE recruits took down all FIFTY of them.

_What the hell did I do wrong?_

He finally regained his ability to speak.

"Did you at least start making the food then?"

Jane's smile was ear to ear. "Yes Sir."

"You're lucky I love my barbeque."

She chuckled at that and set back to work behind the grill.

Lee looked up straight into the security camera, instantly glad that he had the foresight to have installed it.

He motioned Dupont over to him and he turned on his Omni-tool.

The security tape started to play, and he fast forwarded until he saw what appeared to be the last of his Special Forces role in with some girls on their shoulders.

Lee was infinitely disappointed how easy it had been for the triplet to blend in.

"Jane was right, they're very trusting of faceless and voiceless people." He mumbled

He watched as Trevor bent over to take off the bag, and how slow he was to react when the bag was lifted.

The massacre had begun. The Shepards were efficient he would give them that. They missed maybe one or two shots. They were all marksmen with their respective weapons.

The surprising thing was the biotics. The neural scrambler they had attached to the biotics should have prevented this. He made a mental note to ask Jane about it later.

The girl was probably the strongest human biotic he had ever seen. The girl was able to launch out three shockwaves at the same time, which was definitely a trick he was going to ask about later.

He cringed a bit with Jane charged Alex straight into a tree.

"Chakwas, check on Alex. Look for broken bones." He called out

"Yes Commander."

_Damn, my guys never stood a chance._

The rest of the night was not as loud or exciting as e planned, most of his people shamed into silence.

_At least they went down together._

Jane, Kate, Abbey, and Chakwas however were having the time of their lives.

He walked up to Jane and asked "Jane, we attached a neural dampener to you. How did you get past it?"

She took out a smoldering chunk of metal and handed it to him.

At first it just looked like charred metal, but he quickly realized that this was the dampener.

He arched his brow at Chakwas, hoping for a medical explanation.

"She burned it out. The poor thing wasn't meant to block the energy of a biotic equivalent to an Asari Matriarch. I gathered some data from it and will have it ready for you in the morning."

"Thank you Doctor"

When Lee walked away he realized that Jane was something else. This girl was special, meant for something though he had no idea what. He just hoped to live to see it.

But now it was time from some rest. Tomorrow was the first real day of training.

**One Year Later Jane's POV**

"Why do you guys think the Commander wants to see us?" Jane asked

"Maybe the Commander wants to tell us how amazing and gifted were are for the … what number are we on?" Abbey remarked sarcastically

"1274th, remember he drooled over us three times yesterday." Kate remarked, humor creeping in to the edges of her words

Jane had to chuckle at that. Kate probably wasn't that far off to be honest. Their rise in the N7 program was unprecedented. They were all ready N3s and in a few weeks they should be graduating again. In fact that was the only reason they were back on Earth, all of the training was held off world.

They arrived at the Commander's office and Jane knocked on the door.

"Enter"

She opened her door and walked in while her sisters followed.

Jane and her sisters gave a sharp salute which the Commander returned promptly.

"At ease"

"Is something wrong Sir?" asked Abbey

"Not at all. In fact I wanted to thank you."

"For what Sir?" Jane asked

"Yesterday the last of the N6s that you 'saw' a year ago got through their last assignment. We discovered a batarian slave ring in the Argos Rho cluster. They were sent in to clear it. During it they manage to save dozens of captured humans. When our people turned their backs the slaves all pulled weapons. They were victims of Stockholm syndrome, completely loyal to their batarian masters. However thanks to that beat down you gave them a year ago they were a lot more … observant. One of them was really watching the slaves the whole time so it was easy to subdue them. If it wasn't for you those idiots would have gotten themselves killed. I wanted to thank you for their lives."

"While I'm humbled that you think we saved them I'm sure we had nothing to do with it." Said Jane in one of her few moments of humility.

"They disagree with you Jane … in fact all of them asked me to thank you in their reports. To thank all three of you."

Jane was stunned, all she had done was dish out one hell of a beating … and now people were thanking her for beating the shit out of them.

_That's a new one._

"That's all for today, you are all dismissed."

"Yes Sir"

When they were a good distance away Abbey said "So now we get thanked for beating the shit out of our allies?"

"Guess so." Remarked Jane

**One year later Jane's POV**

Jane was sick of waiting in the mud; it made her armor dirty, smelly, and just a pain to move around in. Jane had been lying in the mud for well over a half hour now, waiting.

"Abbey I love you, but right now I really hate you." Jane muttered into the comm.

"It can't be too much longer now."

"We have been here for half an hour, they aren't coming this way."

"They will; this is the best route for them to get to the flag. They'll be here. Don't you have any faith in my tactical mind?"

"Yes I do but …"

"Then the matter is settled."

_Stubborn_

"Kate, how is it looking through your end?" Jane asked, switching channels.

"Fine, haven't seen anything. I'm kind of surprised, Jonah isn't exactly known for his patience."

Jane found herself agreeing. Jonah, red team leader, was known for his brash but usually effective tactics. He was a slightly mellowed version of herself in boot camp, but he put the team over the objective ever since joining the N7 program, respect for his team mates. Reckless tactics and caring for the safety of the team were complete opposites. It was like saying a reserved, polite, well spoken, and patient Krogan. It just didn't work.

"Wait I hear something." Muttered Kate

Jane froze, was it possible that Jonah and his team got past them?

Nothing happened for several heart beats, no gunfire but no 'Don't worry Jane' either.

"I think I just …"

A roar of gunfire finished Kate's sentence.

_He found a way._

Jane leaped out of the pool of mud she was in and started running back towards the base, Abbey right on her heels.

The gunfire stopped and Jane picked up the pace. It wouldn't be long until they lost their flag.

"Jane, he got the flag and is heading towards the evac point. GET HIM!" Kate sounded terrified and angry at the same time, probably because this was the last test as N4s, which was why they were back on Earth again.

Jane turned on the balls of her feet and started to run towards the cliffs that were nearby. It was the only pace within a mile that Jonah could signal the drop ship to come get him. It was the one place that she knew he would go.

Jane was tearing through the jungle fast. Trees flashed by her and she could hear the faint sound of engines.

_Shit!_

Jane somehow sped up even more. The shuttle seemed to have landed and it wouldn't be long until it took off.

Suddenly Jane and Abbey burst through the brush out onto the open area of the cliffs. There was the dropship, already starting to pull out from the cliffs. The door still open.

Jane started to sprint towards the open door. The shuttle had already pulled away from the cliff and was way too far to jump too but that truly didn't matter.

She could hear laughing, probably belonging to Jonah. She knew this would smack that stupid grin off her face.

Jane reached the end of the cliff and jumped towards the shuttle, and could hear Abbey scream her name from behind her along with the gasps of those in the shuttle.

Jane let herself fall for just a split second … then charged straight into the shuttle.

Her enemy was unprepared for such a move and she was able to grab the flag out of Jonah's hand and jump back out.

Jane started to fall again, the familiar feeling of plummeting with nothing to stop you but the hard, unforgiving ground of the jungle.

She stared back up at Abbey who was staring off the edge of the cliff.

Jane charged again.

When Jane impacted Abbey she grabbed onto her sister in a bear hug, causing the pair to roll a good ten feet away from the cliff's edge.

Jane stood up, grabbed Abbey and ran straight back into the jungle. They kept sprinting for a good five minutes, too afraid that Jonah would catch up to them if they stopped.

However both of them had to breathe sometime and they both leaned on a tree, breathing heavily.

Jane was the first to recover and pulled off her helmet to let the sweat on her face air a little, Abbey following suit.

Jane turned towards Abbey and said "Thanks. You know for letting me lock onto to you."

Abbey didn't voice her thoughts with words, but sure did feel fine for letting her fists do the talking.

An unprepared Jane fell victim to one hell of an uppercut and found herself sprawled on her ass with her sisters arms around her face, forcing her to look at a very upset Abbey.

"HOW STUPID ARE YOU?! I THOUGHT I JUST WATCHED MY SISTER COMMIT SUICIDE AND THAT IS ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?!" Abbey screamed, tears rolling down her face.

Jane tried to look away in shame but Abbey kept her still.

"I'm sorry" Jane muttered

"Don't you … ever … do something like that again … you hear me." Abbey said between breaths, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Okay"

"I love you so much and then you pull shit like that off. You're making it hard here Jane." Abbey replied

"At least it's interesting."

Abbey chuckled weakly and stood up.

"True" Abbey replied, holding out her hand to help Jane up.

Jane pulled Abbey into a hug and said "I'm sorry … really I am. I know how my … tendencies have been worrying you and Kate."

Jane let go and led them back towards the base to return the flag.

**Six hours later Abbey's POV**

Abbey wanted to fall over and die, she was that tired. After Jane's little stunt the game went on for another four hours. They had eventually pulled out a win but Lee had everyone do more PT when they returned. That was a little unusual. That sort of thing usually happened when one was still trying to become an N1 … or if someone did something really stupid.

_Should I even be surprised that he knows? What kind of Commander would he be if he didn't know what was happening at all times._

Abbey noticed that Jane headed straight towards the showers, and as soon as she was inside Abbey pulled Kate to her.

"Kate … she's getting worse."

Kate sighed and replied "I know the seven year anniversary of that god forsaken night is approaching but that doesn't mean that …"

"She hurled herself off the cliff TWICE to get the stupid flag. She. Is. Getting. Worse."

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Kate yelled, causing Abbey to wince at the rapid increase in volume. She should have been prepared; Kate was just as overprotective concerning Jane as herself.

"Yes"

Kate stormed off straight into the shower area. It didn't sound like anyone had a chance to start, which was quickly confirmed as all the other girls ran out … probably because of the noise Kate was making.

Abbey walked over to the door to the showers and leaned on the wall next to it.

"Kate let me …"

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? DO YOU WANT TO KILL YOURSELF? THESE STUNTS ALL WAYS GET WORSE TOWARDS THIS TIME OF YEAR … BUT THIS! We both know what is causing to this. You need to talk ..."

"NO!" Jane screamed and Abbey heard glass shatter.

Abbey ran inside to see Jane's hand through one of the mirrors, blood crawling her way down her hand and a river of tears flowing down her eyes.

Abbey carefully approached Jane and started to massage her shoulders, the best way to calm Jane down when she got like this. These rare moments that Jane showed how broken she was tore Abbey's heart out. It was easy to see Jane as the toughest person in the galaxy … but to see the truth was heart breaking.

"We're always her for you, you know that right? You don't have to protect us anymore, let us help you." Abbey said as she gently rubbed Jane's shoulders.

"I can't" Jane said, trying to keep her voice level.

"Alright … when you're ready we'll be here." Abbey replied

Jane nodded and just let her sister work her sore shoulders.

It was quiet for a long time, and thankfully no one else came in.

Jane eventually got up and went to the Med-Bay to get herself patched up.

When she was gone Kate muttered "Damn it … we need to do something. I can't stand seeing her break."

"I know"

Abbey collected all the pieces, carefully, and put them in the disposal unit.

When the pair walked outside the rest of the girls took that as their sign that they were allowed back in.

It took half an hour for Jane to return, and when she did she went straight to bed.

Before long they could see Chakwas poke her head inside the barracks and motion the two of them to come to her. When they did she walked back towards the Med-Bay with the sisters at her heels.

"What happened? Jane said she cut herself with her knife but I saw right through that."

"She punched through one of the mirrors in the shower room." Kate replied

"And why is that?"

Neither of the girls answered, not sure what was safe to say.

"I swear Lee will not hear about any of this. I just need to know why Jane's injuries have been getting worse and worse lately."

_Damn, not much gets by her._

"This time of year… well it's the anniversary of something absolutely terrible for her." Commented Abbey

Chakwas nodded and said "Explain it to me when me when we get back to the Med-Bay."

They walked in silence, weaving through the maze that was the Villa. When they arrived inside the Med-Bay Chakwas closed the door and turned off the cameras.

"Explain." Was all Chakwas said, in her calm but strong voice.

"We don't … we don't even know the full story doc. In fact we know the end of it but that's it."

"Well what do you know?"

"About seven years ago Jane went out on her weekly food run. We knew something was wrong when she was two hours late but we couldn't do much. We just waited and prayed that she was just in traffic." Abbey started

"However she didn't come home that night. We knew something was wrong then and we started sending discreet search parties around the city. They found absolutely no sign of her. We were terrified and it only got worse after the second day. When you are a high level gang member like Jane and you go missing for two days … people start to search the bottom of the river instead of warehouses."

"What happened?" asked Chakwas

"She limped back home the third morning. She was … she was covered in so much blood." Abbey said; squeezing her eyes shut in vain to block out the memory.

"We tried to get her to talk to us but all she said is that she 'Got even'. I had never been so terrified in my life when she said that." Remarked Kate

"So you don't know what happened?"

"No we don't, and that's what scares us." Answered Abbey

"Do you two need me to do anything?"

"I don't think … actually I do. I just want you to talk to Jane if you can a little more often. Tell her that you need more tests for her biotics. Just give her someone to talk to; she can't keep just talking to us forever. She needs to talk to someone that she doesn't have this overwhelming sense to protect. Even if it's just about her day it will help." Said Abbey

"Sure, anything I can do to help, though I might need to cut back if I get busy."

"Doc … Karin, thank you."

"Anytime dears. Now go look after her."

Abbey motioned Kate to follow her and they turned to leave. When the Med-Bay door closed Abbey turned to look back at it.

_Thank God that woman is here._

**Six Months Later Jane's POV**

Jane sat in a crowded drop ship with ten other recruits, Lee, and an instructor as the shuttle started climbing into the shy.

_I'm going to hate these._

Parachute drops, one of the classes in the N5 section of the N7 program. It was the most feared and hated. No one ever died during these drops but still. This was the last test in the N7 program and Lee always set the last test on Earth. The door opened, letting out a loud noise as the wind blew past them.

"Alright, today is your first combat jump. When you jump wait five seconds then deploy the parachute! Good Luck!" the drill instructor shouted over the noise

"Abbey, you're up first!" Lee yelled

Abbey took her spot by the opened door and grabbed the rail above her head. Jane watched her take a calming breath then leap out of the door. Jane was impressed that Abbey didn't scream or yelp just once. It showed just how tough her youngest sister was.

Jane tripled check her parachute while Lee called others up to the ramp.

"Kate!" Lee called out

Jane turned her eyes on her sister. Kate was much more apprehensive about this than Abbey was. Kate took a few seconds to gather herself and leapt out of the shuttle.

Lee was about to call another name when Kate screamed "SHIT! THE PARACHUTE'S JAMMED AND THE RESERVE JUST SNAPPED!"

Jane didn't hesitate for a moment before she jumped out of the shuttle.

"KATE! TURN ON YOUR BEACON!" Jane screamed

Kate didn't acknowledge her but did as she was told. Jane however could hear Kate's starting to breathe really hard and really fast.

"Kate keep that breathing under control, I'm coming!"

Jane saw Kate's beacon light up on her HUD and she turned towards her sister. Shepard folded her arms up to her sides in an attempt to catch up to her falling sister.

Jane was catching up but the ground was approaching really fast.

Jane was closing in on Kate.

_50 feet_

_25 feet_

_10 feet_

_5 feet_

_GOT YA!_

Jane grabbed onto her sister and they started to tumble a bit in the air. Jane corrected and pulled her chute. Jane looked down in dismay though as she realized they were well below the minimum distance to pull the chute. Kate turned her body and held onto Jane for her life but was also careful not to choke her.

They were slowing down … but not fast enough. If they landed in the clearing the force of impact would kill them. Jane realized there was no other choice and steered the parachute towards the jungle.

This was going to be close. The trees would most likely impale them if she didn't do this right but they would slow them down.

Right before they dipped below the tree line Jane channeled her biotics into a shield that should keep both of them safe.

They crashed straight through the tops of the trees, the barrier keeping all the braches away from them.

Suddenly the parachute caught, the sisters' momentum sending them forward fast enough to actually rip through the lines. That was a lot of force.

Thankfully they were only then feet above the ground so the main worry was just the horizontal momentum and velocity. Jane crashed through several layers of branches but arrived at the tree floor safely … mostly.

Jane groaned as she got up and said "Kate, where are you."

Kate started to scream through the comm. And Jane sprinted towards the sound. Since she could hear her Jane knew that Kate's helmet might have been torn off during the landing.

_FIND HER! She screamed at herself_

Thankfully the beacon started to work again and Jane found her after a minute, but was not pleased at all with the sight in front of her.

Kate was lying of her back, on the jungle floor screaming in agony. Jane realized why she could hear her sister, a branch had stabbed itself into helmet and opened it up, but it thankfully didn't appear to have hurt Kate. What had hurt Kate though was the branch that was sticking out of her left leg … and her side.

_SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!_

Jane ran over to Kate's side, pulling both their helmets off in the process.

"Kate. I'm here you're going to be okay. Baby look at me."

Kate stared at her sister with red swollen eyes as tears flowed down her face.

Jane cupped her sisters face and said "I need to get you back to base … this is going to hurt."

Jane made a make shift sling from some of the vines and used them on the branches to keep them from moving around. It was the only way that Jane was going to be able to move her and Jane needed to move her. The medical transport was unwieldy and was going to be forced to land in the landing, which was over a mile away. Based on the amount of blood Jane knew that Kate didn't have time while they ran to get her and carry her out.

Jane picked her up, being careful not to move the branches as best as she could and set out towards the field.

"I NEED A MEDICAL TRANSPORT TO THE LANDING FIELD NOW!" Jane screamed over the comm.

Lee started calling the transport but Jane had lost focus about that the second she finished her sentence. All she could think about was her little sister, possibly dying in her own arms.

_You didn't protect my little girl Jane; I RAISED YOU BETTER THAN THAT! Screamed her mother_

_SHUT UP!_

_YOU COULDN'T PROTECT MY LITTLE GIRL! YOUR OWN SISTER, WHAT KIND OF OLDER SISTER ARE YOU! YOU AREN'T ANY CHILD I WANT!_

_SHUT THE FUCK UP!_

Jane pushed those thoughts out of her mind; they would not help her right now.

Kate had passed out, which was probably merciful.

Jane was walking for about twenty minutes when she came across the landing zone. The medical shuttle had just landed.

_Perfect timing._

Jane sped up a little. Several medics jumped out of the craft with a stretcher and sprinted towards Jane. They lowered Kate gently onto the stretcher, practiced and trained hands putting Kate down on the stretcher while causing as little pain as humanly possible.

"Jane!"

Jane could see Abbey running towards her, looking at Kate in horror the whole time.

"Abbey, she'll be fine. They're trained for this." Jane replied, her voice betrayed the lack of conviction behind her words though

"I know …" Abbey gasped as she looked back at Jane

"What?"

Jane followed her sister's eyes to see part of a branch sticking out at little out of her gut. Her suit's red paint was almost impossible to distinguish from the blood that was pouring out. The branch was mostly sticking out the other side of her suit, as the branch went all the way through. It was hard to see to be honest but Abbey was always the observant one. The medics were so focused on Kate that it wasn't really surprising that they hadn't seen the injury, after all Jane didn't even feel it.

Suddenly the pain for the injury came on, waves of pain flowing over each other trying to sweep Jane away.

Jane grunted as she fell to her knees.

"MEDIC!" Abbey screamed before the shuttle took off.

Thankfully someone heard her and ran towards her. The woman noticed what was wrong and called to one of her co-workers, and a man quickly ran outside.

The pair of medics pulled Jane to her feet in an effort to get her walking. While Jane was able to walk a few minutes ago she couldn't stand now, and her feet collapsed under her. The medics didn't let her hit the floor though and carried her to the shuttle.

Jane went in and out of consciousness on the way back. The medics were all over her throughout the entire way back.

_Kate needs you! _She would mentally scream, as she was too weak to talk.

Jane was out again and when she woke up she was in the Med-Bay.

Jane tried to get up but the pain in her gut was too much and she was back on her back.

"Nice to see you awake Jane." Called out Chakwas

"Hey Doc … glad to see … I'm … still alive." Replied Jane through the groans of pain.

"You were in pretty bad shape; the branch that went through you nicked some of your organs. Thankfully were able to correct with a little surgery."

"That's sounds pleasant. Where's Kate?"

"To your right."

Jane looked over and was surprised to see Kate sleeping peacefully, Jane could see the edge of her bandages creeping out from the edge of her blanket.

"How is she?"

"Fine. Her injuries while painful were a lot less serious. I expected you to be out for a day or two to be honest. She'll be up in a bit."

"Thank you"

"That's what I'm here for." Replied Chakwas as she turned back towards her desk, no doubt filling out some sort of report.

Jane was there for an hour waiting for Kate to wake up when Abbey came through the door.

"She's over there." Said Chakwas, pointing to Jane over her shoulder.

Abbey looked at Jane and sighed "They said you would be alright but …"

"I'm fine Abbey, but I do appreciate the concern." Jane said while smiling

Abbey took a seat next to Jane and they started talking when Kate started to stir.

"Hey Kate, how are you feeling?" asked Jane

"I'm a little sore, but I think I'll be fine. But Jane why are you here?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Jane"

"I might have been … impaled when I was carrying you through the jungle."

"WHAT!?"

"See that's why I didn't want to say anything, I'm fine by the way. I didn't even know I was in bad shape until you were on the shuttle."

Kate just stared at Jane, her mouth open in shock. Jane couldn't blame her; Jane had carried Kate for a mile in the jungle without even realizing she had been impaled by a branch.

Kate slowly closed her mouth, then said "Well we all landed, does that mean we passed because I really don't want to do that again."

The three of them started laughing, and Jane was pleased to see that they all still had their sense of humor.

**One Year Later**

"Alright people, today is the day we have been waiting for … time for the LaTA." Boomed Lee

The LaTA, the Leadership and Tactics Assessment. The final step before you can be deployed in action as an N6. IT was also the most feared test at the Villa. It was so difficult that you only needed to take it, not pass it. This however was the last of a series of tests for N6s that were held back at the Villa.

It was a punishing sim that set up the test taker as the Commander of an invasion. You are in charge of the battle in orbit, the battle of the ground, and in charge of the infiltration team that you use before the invasion begins.

The rest was kept secret. The only thing else that Jane knew was that you had to win to 'pass'.

Jane heard all of her fellow recruits groan, and she groaning with them.

"The order is randomized so our first victim of today is … Jane Shepard."

_Shit_

Lee led her into a large, but not massive, room that had tech that appeared to be used in command centers. The amount of equipment was daunting though and it suggested the size of the simulation she was about to take part in. She had several people serving as support staff. The main room was divided into three sections. One was built like the inside of a ship; the second was built like a war camp during an invasion. The third was built like it was in a cave of some kind, trading space for invisibility; it must be some sort of recon post.

_They sure go out of their way to make you feel like a Commander._

She was given an hour to familiarize herself with the crew and the situation.

The mission entailed attacking a world during a campaign against the Turians.

_Guess the Alliance never got over the First Contact War huh._

It was a small colony world that apparently had a prototype anti-ship cannon on the planet … so the Alliance wanted it, preferably intact. However due to resistance in the system this was an optional objective.

An enemy fleet was guarding over the planet which provided the space portion of this test, thankfully the fleet was pretty standard fair. One dreadnought and ten cruisers accompanied by a full range of support frigates. Her fleet was actually larger, which triggered a red flag in Jane's mind. Something was going to go wrong.

The enemy ground force was staggering, several battalions all concentrated in one capitol building. The ground invasion was going to be difficult but hopefully straight forward.

The recon post was interesting though. Turns out an infiltration team made it to the planet's surface and was not detected. This gave her some interesting options, but if they got caught before the fleet arrived then the whole planet would be put on alert, making the rest of the invasion that much harder.

"Test begins in Three minutes" called the VI

Jane quickly decided to use the infiltration team as a recon team, that way the team wouldn't be caught. Maybe they could double as snipers later in the invasion. There was a cliff that was fairly high enough to allow the team to get a good view and report enemy positions. It would also serve as a nice sniping ground.

Jane was more focused on the ground invasion. It appeared the best course of action would be to surround the area, whittle the enemy down then just storm the area with troops. Not an original plan, but a plan.

"The test has begun."

Jane jogged to the recon post and said "Move the infiltration team here, and have them report enemy positions. They are not to open fire though."

The man did as he was told and soon the computer was telling her where the 'enemy' was.

Jane soon brought in the fleet, which was caught off guard by their sudden appearance. The battle was going well; her dreadnought had temporarily disabled the enemy dreadnought's main gun so they were defenseless against her dreadnoughts superior firepower and range. It was going so well that she was able to land the troop transports and begin the land invasion.

Then a loud siren started to go off and one of her support crew yelled "The main reactor's coolant systems have gone offline and the reactor is approaching a meltdown. The backups can't take the pressure."

_Oh fuck you Lee._

Jane looked at the readouts. It was pretty bad; the ships reactor was spewing radiation and would most certainly kill anyone that tried to repair it.

_Isn't this sort of thing a cliché?_

Then Jane got a really good idea.

"Tell all hands to abandon ship. Set the VI to send half of all system power into the backup coolant system. Have it send the rest of it into the engines … set a course for the main capitol building."

That got a lot of attention, the rest of her support group from all three sections stared at her for a few seconds.

"Ma'am the reactor will go before the ship lands."

"I'm counting on it."

The man didn't reply but typed out her commands.

"Have the rest of the cruisers take out that dreadnought then mop up the rest of the enemy fleet."

"Aye aye Ma'am."

Jane walked over to the ground invasion camp and said "Pull all forces back to the shuttles and get them into orbit. We have about ten minutes before we get an orbital strike."

Jane pulled the infiltration team into orbit too. This was one hell of a gamble, if the reactor exploded too early then this whole thing would be for nothing, but Jane trusted her instincts.

All of the support crew watched the screen as the dreadnought started falling towards the planet. The main gun on the surface was firing, but since it wasn't atomizing the ship it made little difference. The gun was made to destroy a ship that was trying to bombard a planet … not one that was going to ram it.

The dreadnought was about one mile above the planet when it detonated. The reactor exploded in the fashion of a nuclear bomb … wiping the capital building right off the map.

Her fleet thankfully was able to mop up the enemy fleet but it sustained some losses when the enemy dreadnought's main gun turned back online.

When the last enemy ship fell she let out a sigh of relief, it was over and it only took about forty five minutes.

Lee stepped in and motioned for Jane to follow him.

"Nice job. You are one of about a hundred people who have passed that test the first time."

"What? How? That test was not the overly difficult Sir. It was a joke after I realized that I could use a dreadnought as an orbital strike."

"Exactly. When the dreadnought is disabled most people try to fix it without someone dying. That takes a lot of time and effort. That costs them the battle. The point of that battle is that sometimes sacrifices need to be made."

"I didn't …"

"You did, you sacrificed the entire ship to save that engineer … well and everyone on the ground. It's a surprise to see that coming from you."

Jane froze in her tracks and replied "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You sacrifice people for the sake of the mission. An important quality, though not a well loved one. Especially because of how easy you do it."

Jane was going to argue further but there was no point. Jane knew how brutal her tactics were; in fact it had earned her the nick name of 'The Butcher' due to the fact that she gave no mercy, to her allies as well as to her enemies. In fact her tactics were so brutally efficient that sometimes the instructors would cringe. Jane had been disciplined more than a few times for beating the shit out of her enemies for information. The only reason that she never got failed out of the N7 program was because of how effective she was. She was just too good to let go of. That and her incredible biotic power.

"Go enjoy the day Jane; I think you've earned it."

**Kate's POV Six hours later**

"Send the team up the ventilation shaft"

Her 'men' team crawled their way to the main power source of the gun, which was located a floor below the gun itself. If the gun was test fired now the generator would fry them. But that didn't happen and her team made it to the main power generator inside the thing, and quickly started to sabotage it.

The gun was probably the most sophisticated thing in the known galaxy … or it would be if it was real. Sophistication meant that it was easy to break and within twenty minutes her 'team' sent back a green light.

The man gun was powered by a nuclear fission cell near the base of the gun.

_Big mistake_

The team now turned the thing into a time bomb. If the gun was fired it would start a five second countdown. The blast … well it would suffice to put it mildly.

Kate ordered the retreat and her team got out, and even got away without the enemy noticing that they were there.

"Bring in the fleet!" she yelled

Suddenly the fleet arrived and opened fire. The bad part was that Kate was no fleet admiral, she just didn't do space combat. She took a surprising number of causalities considering the fact that she had the element of surprise. However when the enemy tried to fire their anti-ship cannon they were rewarded with a nuclear blast that completely destroyed that part of the planet.

Eventually the enemy fleet was forced to retreat, at a great time too as her dreadnaught suffered some reactor problems. She was able to rig the built up heat to be dispersed through the weapon systems. It was safe if done correctly but it took the main guns offline, which was now acceptable considering that the battle was over.

When the majority of the heat was displaced she was able to slowly bring the main coolant system online which helped stop most of the radiation leaks. At that point she was able to send a man down safely.

"Test concluded"

_Oh thank God._

Lee came to collect her and explained that she was the first person ever to destroy the place in such a fashion.

"Thank you Sir."

"No need to thank me, you did all the hard work. Now got get some rest, orders for deployment will be coming in soon."

Kate started smiling at his words. Finally they would get off planet and go help people; it's the reason she wanted to join the Alliance after all … though using it to live was a good reason too.

**Abbey's POV six hours later**

Abbey was exhausted. That test was brutal, and to be honest she felt like she did rather poorly. Abbey started to slowly her way back to the barracks, praying that nothing decided to get between her and her bed. She finally made it back, and was right next to her cot when she was interrupted.

"Abbey how did it go?" asked Jane from across the barracks

"Poorly" was all she was able to say before she collapsed in her cot.

"I don't believe you."

"I don't care, I'm tired. Go away." Abbey snapped; her voice filled with anger. However Abbey could never be mad at Jane. Apparently Jane never got the memo.

"Okay" Jane said softly. It sounded like she actually thought that she had made Abbey mad.

_I love her so much but still … idiot._

"Jane … I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that, but you should also know that I could never be mad at you."

"I know, on both accounts." Jane replied, giving her sister a loving wink as she walked away.

Abbey felt the familiar feeling of sleep start to pull down her eyes when someone started shouting.

"Front and Center recruits!" bellowed Lee

Abbey somehow managed to get up and run/stumble to the center of the barracks and take her position.

"Alright recruits the LaTA scores have been finalized. But we need to recognize one rather special members of our little family. Abbey Shepard, congratulations you are now the highest scoring LaTA test taker in Alliance history."

Abbey was unable to respond, her mouth left agape.

Lee chuckled and everyone around her congratulated her with immense cheering and clapping.

Jane turned Abbey towards her.

"Do I remember someone saying that they did poorly?" Jane asked, her face desperately trying, and failing, to suppress a grin.

Abbey scowled at her sister's sarcasm, which caused Jane to start laughing.

"We both know that you can't get angry with me, you love me too much." Jane said matter-of-factly, while crossing her arms. If it wasn't for the cheeky smile it would appear that Jane was giving someone a well earned lecture.

Abbey sighed "Yep. Whatever, I'll take it."

"Recruits!" called out Lee

Everyone dropped everything and got back into the lines. It was automatic, no thinking involved. Lee spoke and they listened.

"Alright recruits, tomorrow is the last day here in the Villa. Tomorrow is the day you have all been waiting for. Tomorrow you get to be the hunters instead of the hunted … well most of you that is."

Abbey could see Jane smirking in the corner of her vision.

"So that means that the last time anyone of you will visit this place is **when **you get your N7 commendation. That day will be different for all of you but I firmly believe that all of you have the potential to do it. If one of you disappoints me and gets themselves killed I swear to God I will kick your ass. GOT IT?"

"SIR YES SIR" replied all the recruits

"Good. Now enjoy today and tomorrow. DISMISSED!"

The next two days were a blur; the rest of the first was spent in quite relaxation with her sisters. The second day was a little more entertaining. When the new bloods were all tied up Jane slipped one of them a pistol, loosened her restraints, and told her to wait for it.

That moment came an hour later when one of the recruits was standing on the table proposing a toast. The poor guy got shot in the chest several times and the new blood was able to escape.

No one went after the kid. Most of her fellow N6s claimed they thought she was able to smuggle it in and deserved freedom for her great effort. The real reason was to make fun of the guy who got shot as his armor eventually limbered up.

The food was great; Abbey had forgotten what steak had tasted like over the years. In fact she had only ever had it once, some celebration back on Earth. She was grateful she couldn't remember why she was celebrating; it showed just how little that life meant to her now.

"So Chakwas, you said when we met that you hated serving on planets, why didn't you leave?" Asked Jane, the question snapping Abbey out of her reflective mode.

"I don't think hate is the right word, I just love serving on starships. I don't know why but I find it much more exciting, and it just feels right serving on a ship."

"You ever going back then?" asked Kate

"Yes actually, I've already put in a transfer request. I should be serving on a ship soon."

"Oh really, I hope you find what you find what you want out there." Responded Jane

"Thank you dear, so do I. Now my turn for a question."

"Shoot." Replied Abbey

"Why are you three just sitting around here talking to me instead of celebrating with your teammates?"

"You're just that interesting Doc." Said Jane

Chakwas almost spit out the drink that she was sipping; when she finally swallowed she burst out laughing.

"That's nice, but that is the worst lie I have ever heard. Try again."

"Well it isn't that far off to be honest. We never really clicked with anyone here. While we know who there are and what they do we don't know what they are. What makes them who they are. Not so interesting actually." Explained Jane

"Huh"

"Yeah, plus we have … people issues as you can imagine." Responded Kate

"I do." Chakwas responded, her voice betraying how serious she was with that response.

"So do you have any idea where you'll be sent? Any wishes?" asked Abbey

"Not really, on both accounts. "

"Well at least you won't be disappointed then." Remarked Jane

"True indeed"

"I'm going to miss you Chakwas, if I ever see you again the first rounds on me." Replied Kate

"Don't worry; I get the strange feeling that this won't be the end to our adventures together."

Jane stood up, lifted her glass and said "Here's to us, and to the many adventures we will hopefully have together."

"Cheers" responded the other three.

**Next Day Abbey's POV**

"Alright people, you are getting your official deployment orders. Make sure they're yours, read them, and then get on the shuttle according to the briefing. It's been an honor." Said Lee

Abbey was handed her orders … and she was not exactly pleased with them.

"Why the long face?"

"What huh … oh hey Jane. Sorry, it's just I've been attached to a scouting platoon, I'm not going to see much of anything for a long time."

"Is that really so bad?"

That was a surprise to hear from Jane. She lived for combat, it's the only thing she loved other than her sisters.

_Wait, I get it._

"You're afraid that I might get killed aren't you."

"Yes"

_She is being honest about her overprotective nature, a day filled with surprises._

"Knew it. Where are you going?"

"Attached to an anti-piracy platoon. I will see horrors almost constantly, so thank you for your sympathy."

"Please be careful." Said Kate, from behind Abbey

"Jesus, give me some warning here." Abbey said after she almost jumped through the ceiling.

"Sorry. I didn't hear where you were going Abbey." Said Kate

"Scouting Platoon, you?"

"Anti-piracy just like Jane. Doubt we'll be in the same platoon though, Alliance has dozens if not hundreds of them these days."

"Yeah, why does it feel like I got screwed though." Muttered Abbey

Jane shrugged and replied, "We need to get our stuff, the shuttles leave in an hour."

On the way back Abbey watched as all of her fellow N6 members say their goodbyes to each other. Abbey wasn't surprised when no one came to see them off; they weren't the most social people here. Not after Earth and the incident in the Cafeteria back on Luna.

When they gathered their things they went straight to the shuttle bay where they found Karin waiting for them.

"I just wanted to say one more goodbye, good luck girls. I know that you'll make us proud."

"Thank you … for everything." Replied Jane

"And thank you for making these last so years entertaining."

"You are welcome; I just hope our next adventures involve less impalement." Muttered Jane

All of them chuckled at that. All three of them gave Chakwas and each other a hug before they left for their respective shuttles.

Abbey stared out at both of them until the doors to the shuttle finally closed.

Abbey never realized how tough leaving her sisters would be. They were all she really had left, and to not have them here after so many years … it gave her quite the empty feeling.

_We'll see each other again. I swear._

_**Hello everyone, sorry that it was posted kind of late in the night but I just had to keep checking for mistakes. I know some of you are thinking THEY CAPTURED ABOUT 50 MEMBERS OF SPECIAL FORCES ON THEIR FIRST DAY. My response … these are the future Commander Shepards here, enough said. Well and that over confidence kills. Don't worry, that wasn't all about the ICT that I plan to write about, these are just the important parts right now. Others will be more important later, most likely in the form of flashbacks and memories. More will show itself eventually, just like parts of their childhoods. Another potential issue some of you might have is Chakwas. She is a great doctor and that is why she was stationed at the Villa.**_

_**I apologize for any grammar and spelling mistakes I failed to catch. I hoped you enjoy.**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Sorry for the delayed update but I've had a lot going on recently, but I have several chapters almost complete, just need to do the final editing. Remember as much as I want to I don't own the Mass Effect series and all credit goes to EA and Bioware. I hope you enjoy and please review. This is a revision update as someone noticed that I accidentally called Kate Jane. Thanks metaladdict for the spot.**_

**Kate's POV One Year Later**

Kate turned on the comm. terminal back at the base and punched in the info that would let her call Jane. Kate had originally planned to call Abbey too but apparently something came up, so she was on duty.

"Kate, can you hear me?" asked Jane through the terminal as soon as the call connected.

"Yes, it's great to see you again." Replied Kate, smiling as she spoke.

Jane looked great, she was smiling with a real heartwarming smile, and she even looked like she was getting sleep, something that Kate couldn't always say.

_Guess she actually can survive without us._

"You too, everything going alright on your end?" Asked Jane

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm on shore leave here on Elysium. How are you?" replied Kate

"Wait you're on shore leave and you're spending your time by calling me, I'm flattered."

"Don't let that head of yours grow too big there, but you should be. I don't make time for calls across the galaxy for just anyone."

Jane started to chuckle and Kate joined her.

"So Jane, where are you?"

"On board the SSV Agincourt right now, just patrolling the relays, nothing exciting really. Haven't seen combat in a month. What about you?"

"I haven't seen combat in five weeks. It's odd; usually pirates aren't known for prolonged periods of waiting. Do you think the Alliance is starting to thin their numbers?"

"Ha fat chance. The pirates are probably just getting ready for a big offensive, feel sorry for the slobs that have face that."

Kate knew Jane was right but prayed she was wrong.

"Hey Kate, enough with the long face. There isn't anything we can do about it right now; we'll just deal with it when it happens."

"Yeah you're right."

"Yep, always am. Anything interesting happen these last three months since we last spoke."

"Not really, it's all been standard fare. Have you been able to speak to Abbey lately?"

"No, it seems like things are starting to pick up where ever she is but I don't know why. It could be that –" and the call froze.

"Jane can you hear me?" asked Kate

No answer and eventually the call just cut out. She tried to reset it but the damn thing would just tell her that it couldn't connect to the comm. relay.

"Stupid thing. Of course the one chance that I get to talk to my sister you have crap out." Muttered Kate as she got up to leave.

Comm. buoy problems were infamous for taking forever to fix, it was likely that she wouldn't be able to call Jane back before she got sent back to active duty.

Kate strolled out onto one of the outside ledges of the building, leaning on the rail and staring out at the rest of Elysium.

Elysium was a beautiful colony despite how large the colony was. The colony itself had about seven million citizens and there were no signs that Elysium's rapid growth was going to stop. It was the jewel of the Traverse.

Kate was always surprised to see both the city and nature coexisting. On Earth, or maybe it was just New York, there had almost no sign that the place actually used to have trees of any kind, especially after Central Park had been closed down and demolished.

"Beautiful colony."

Kate almost jumped into orbit. When she turned around she was surprised to see Jacob.

"Jacob, is that you?" asked Kate

"The one and only." he remarked, with a small grin on his face.

"How are you doing, I haven't seen you in years." Kate said

"Pretty well considering, being stationed on Elysium is simple but rewarding. But enough about the boring standard Alliance marine and more about the rather exciting N6 Special Forces operative."

Kate chuckled and replied "Surprisingly not much, a pirate/slaver cell is spotted then my team and I are occasionally sent in. Most of them surrender when they see what they are up against. Don't blame them personally."

Jacob was silent, most likely contemplating Mindoir at the mention of slavers. Kate knew he still had animosity towards slavers and she agreed with his views, after all who wouldn't … but there was no way she could have the passion behind it like he did.

"Jacob are you …"

"Yeah, sorry. Just remembering."

"You have nothing to be sorry about."

"I know, and I finally believe it. There was nothing that I could do."

Kate smiled; it was great to see that he didn't blame himself anymore. It was a nice improvement over the Jacob she met in boot camp.

"Feel better?" she asked

"Maybe after some drinks, interested?"

"Oh yes"

Kate followed as Jacob gave her the tour of Elysium on the way to his favorite bar.

On the way Kate noticed that there seemed to be as many aliens as there were humans. Kate didn't have a problem with aliens but she had never seen them in the numbers she was seeing now, but Kate wasn't that surprised. Half of the total population on Elysium was non-human.

When they arrived Kate was surprised to find that the bar was extremely well kept, and that the bar keeper was a Krogan. The Krogan was huge, but the interesting thing was that he seemed to be covered in scars. Most of them looked like burns marks, and most of them weren't that faded.

"Bet the Krogan keeps things interesting." Whispered Kate

"That's Gatatog Nevag." Jacob replied

"Friends?"

"You could say that."

"Sounds like there's a story to that."

"Yeah, he was on a shuttle exploded about a year. I was already on the scene when it happened so I rushed in to find survivors, I found him. I had to drag him to safety."

"How the Hell did you drag him out, don't Krogan weigh about a ton in armor?"

"He didn't, I was still conscious and I walked out. Though I will admit for a human he is an excellent crutch." Muttered the Krogan

Both Jacob and Kate started to laugh pretty hard.

"Give me two of the usual."

The Krogan nodded and pulled out several different bottles and two glasses. Despite being a Krogan Nevag was pretty graceful when he made the drinks. The Krogan actually had **style **when making drinks. Interesting Krogan indeed.

"What is this? Its … green." Asked Kate

"Ryncol"

Kate looked up in surprise and arched her eye brow.

He lasted a good five seconds before his poker face broke down.

"Damn it, almost held it straight. It's an Asari drink, something smooth. I have to go on duty somewhat soon and I don't think showing up hammered is a good idea. Tomorrow however is a different story. The next two days I'm on leave, which makes it even sweeter since I'm stationed on Elysium. Tomorrow is the day we get a little crazy."

Kate chuckled and replied "Deal"

Jacob stood up after a few more drinks, but the tame Asari drinks weren't enough to even get him buzzed, and said "My shift starts in a few hours so I have to go but … see you around Kate."

"I will, tomorrow we'll go see the sights."

Jacob chuckled and replied "Good" before walking out of the bar.

Kate didn't stay too much longer, but when she left she took the scenic route back to the base. The Elysium sunset was beautiful and she was glad to have seen it.

By the time Kate made it back to HQ it was starting to get dark.

As Kate got into bed she promised herself that the rest of her week, shore leave was to be spent going crazy. Kate drifted off into sleep.

Several hours later Kate was awoken from her slumber by a loud boom, not one that was really heard but felt.

_Wonder what was dropped?_

Then it happened again, and again. Something wasn't right here. Kate sat up, pulled on some more decent clothing and walked into the hall, the booming continuing.

Kate wasn't the only one to be disturbed by it. Half of the people in the barracks were poking their heads out of their rooms, staring at each of their comrades waiting for someone else to explain.

Kate reached the window and stared out towards the edges of the colony, in the direction the booms were coming from.

Little lights descended from the sky, the objects making little booms as they touched the ground.

Suddenly several explosions lighted up at the edge of Elysium, and these lights revealed what the objects were … ships. Kate knew that was not standard procedure for the Alliance.

"SHIT! PIRATES ARE ATTACKING THE COLONY!" screamed Kate as she pulled the base alarm that was closest to her.

Red strobe lights turned on and a loud siren went off. Everyone sprang into action … which at the moment was arming themselves.

Kate ran to the armory and was pleased to see that most of the weapons and armor were gone from the racks, meaning that most of the soldiers running around had to be armed.

Kate quickly threw on her under suit, then her armor, and then grabbed her weapons.

Kate bolted outside to hear the loud cacophony of battle.

"Kate!" screamed Jacob

She turned to see her friend in full armor and sporting an assault rifle.

She nodded for him to follow her and they set off in to a run.

"Jacob, what are the protocols for this sort of thing?"

"There are underground vaults all over the area that can be easily defended, and can be sealed at the first sign of pirates approaching the entrance. Everyone will start heading for those. However a lot of people are going to break for the HQ, all the marines are there after all. Most of the Marines will stay at HQ and protect the access codes."

"They have the access codes to the vaults here?!"

"Yeah, but they will wipe them from the system if they are getting overrun, or at least someone there should. But that is beside the point, we either hold out here or we go help people get to the vaults."

"Alright, let's get people to these vaults."

Kate and Jacob trekked through the warzone that was Elysium, finding little evidence of any pirates along the way.

_We must be pretty far from the front line._

Kate and Jacob turned the corner to find a squad of Batarian Pirates dragging away a group of children. There was another woman who was trying to fight off her captors to get to the children but it was obvious that she wasn't going to get anywhere on her own.

_Unacceptable_

Kate brought the scope of her rifle to her eye and held her breath, waiting for the moment in-between heart beats to fire.

The round tore straight through the kinetic barrier and armor of the farthest Batarian, reducing his head into chunks.

The Pirates were caught off guard so Kate was able to fire another kill shot … right between the eyes.

Jacob fired his assault rifle and was able to kill another Pirate.

Three dead in a matter of seconds.

The battle was one sided from there with Kate being able to take down any Batarian that looked out of cover for just a moment. When it was finished all the children had been saved.

"Do you guys know how to get to Alliance HQ from here?" Kate asked, mainly looking at the woman.

The girl had long blonde hair, which was note worthy as blonde hair was a trait that was slowly dying out. She was average in build but slightly taller than most women her age.

"Y-Yeah I d-do … but please … come with us. I can't do this on my own." cried the girl

Kate put her hand on the girls shoulder and asked "Hey, what's your name?"

"Lee"

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen"

_Too young to be shouldering the responsibility of looking after others. Poor girl._

"Alright Lee, I need to go … but Jacob here will go back with you. Be careful please."

The girl almost looked like she was about to cry. "Oh thank you thank you thank you. The other soldiers said we had to get there on our own." Cried the girl

Kate hated that about the Alliance. The Alliance recruitment numbers weren't large enough to support actual defense forces on the colonies, which meant the token task force had to leave a lot of people behind, which in turn causes the Alliance to look worse to the public eye, which meant that less people sign up in the Alliance. A vicious cycle; one that wasn't going to end anytime soon.

Kate started to move forward when Jacob grabbed her arm.

"Jacob go; I'm going hunting."

"Kate …"

"Save it, get them back to base and help keep everyone safe. That's an ORDER." She replied, in a strong but not overly harsh tone.

Jacob hesitated, no doubt deciding who was more important … the civilians or his friend. Thankfully he did as she ordered as she went off to go do some damage.

Kate climbed her way to one of the buildings and started to run along the roofs, looking for targets. She was able to occasionally ambush some of the Pirates, but she was not seeing huge numbers.

_Where the Hell are they?_

Suddenly her Omni-tool beeped.

"All Alliance forces this is Lt. Commander Ethan. All forces fall back to HQ if possible, we have a particularly large amount of civilians here. We are their last defense and the Pirates are attacking the HQ for the vault codes. The auto wipe isn't working correctly. We need to hold the line. Ethan out."

Kate stopped in her tracks and looked out towards the rest of the colony. On one hand she could help save the people that had yet to get to the relative safety of the vaults. On the other she could go back to HQ and protect the civilians in HQ and the vaults. In the end it really wasn't a decision.

"I'm so sorry." She muttered quietly as she turned to go back.

A loud scream rang out, and Kate found herself in cover trying to get a bead on what direction it came from.

A woman burst form one of the buildings and started to sprint down the road when she was tackled by a Batarian and a Turian.

Kate silently climbed down behind the pirates and they were oblivious to her presence.

"STOP SQUIRIMING BITCH!" yelled the Turian as he landed a blow to her head.

Kate silently crept towards the pair, who were too distracted by the woman fighting beneath them.

_A lot of fight in that one._

Kate quietly pulled out her knife, took a breath and lunged forward.

Before the pair could react Kate had slit the throat of the Batarian and wedged the knife straight through the Turian's forehead, instantly killing him.

Kate wiped the blood of her face and reached for the woman on the ground.

"Are you alright."

"Y-Yes I'm fine. Thank you so much." The woman replied

Kate pulled her too her feet and replied "No problem. Is there anywhere you can hide?"

"I was trying to make it back to the Alliance HQ."

"The place is swarming, that's no longer an option."

"No no no no! Please get me there; all the other vaults in the area are locked down. There is no way I'd make it to any of the others. Please." The woman begged

"What is your name?"

"J-Jennifer"

This woman would be more likely to survive if she wasn't at HQ but she didn't have time to take her across the colony. And Kate would never leave someone behind.

"Alright let's go then."

Kate led the pair back towards HQ, thankfully the encountered absolutely no resistance on the way back. That was until they got to the gate.

There was a squad of pirates, mostly Batarian, setting up explosives on the outer gate of HQ. The Alliance's attention was being drawn away from the demolitions squad so they could do their work.

_Shit_

"Jennifer, stay down. I'll be back I promise."

The woman nodded.

Kate climbed to the building they were hiding on and brought her scope to her eye.

Kate fired.

An Asari's head exploded and caused the others to panic for a moment, leaving them all exposed. Kate fired again and everything above the jaw of a Batarian disappeared.

Kate just kept shooting, body parts kept breaking into pieces and in about thirty seconds the entire demolition squad was dead.

Kate climbed down, searched the bodies, and collected all of the explosives. They might need it later.

"All Alliance Forces in HQ. This is Staff Lieutenant Kate Shepard here. I'm stuck on the outside with a civilian and need to get in." Kate said into her comm.

"Kate, its Jacob what side are you on."

"There is a crab shack here."

"The east side then."

A minute later a rope came down from the twelve foot tall wall.

"Come on!" screamed a marine

Both Kate and Jennifer climbed up to safety … for now anyway.

"Jennifer, get inside." Ordered Kate

The woman didn't need to be told twice and bolted to the building.

"Situation?" asked Kate

"Bad, half of the force here is KIA. I don't think we can hold out for too much longer." Replied the marine

"We don't really have a choice, where is Ethan?"

The marine's silence quickly answered that question.

"Who is in command?"

The marine looked at her for a few moments, took a deep breath and replied "You".

"Me?! I'm just a soldier on shore leave, what the Hell happened to the Major's direct subordinates?"

"They all got killed. A mortar strike hit the administration part of HQ. None of them survived."

"Mortars?"

"They stopped using them; we think that an Alliance unit out there may have nailed the mortar crew."

"Oh Thank God. Alright soldier, return to your post and keep me updated on any changes."

"Yes Ma'am"

Kate spoke into her mike "Marines at HQ I'm Staff Lieutenant Shepard and I'm taking command here. Keep on watch while I set up and scout out the situation."

She heard several grunts of acknowledgement as she started to climb HQ.

Kate climbed on top of one the subsections of HQ that had a foot tall wall on the edges. A perfect sniper nest … her natural habitat.

Kate lined up her sniper rifle and started to scout out the situation.

There were hundreds of them. In the buildings, behind cars, some even trying to make their way to the gates though all who tired were completely torn to shreds by the onslaught the Alliance was dishing out.

"Jacob … I need you to get any civilians that can fight and get them out here."

"Kate I think …"

"There are hundreds of slavers. Go. Now." Kate ordered

"Yes Ma'am." Replied Jacob

Kate just lined up targets and fired, ordering different squads into different positions to keep the pirates from bursting though. It was working out rather well. With direction the marines here shaped into a well oiled machine.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a group of Pirates starting to bolt over to the wall, and before she could stop them they had gotten out of her view.

"SHIT! ENEMIES MADE IT TO THE WESTERN WALL!" screamed Kate into her comm.

Several marines started to run towards the exposed section of the wall, but before they could make it the wall exploded inwards, killing anyone within a ten foot radius.

Pirates started to pour through the wall, killing several marines before anyone could react.

"THE WALL HAS BEEN BREACHED!" Kate screamed

Kate brought her rifle to bear and fired round after round, being careful not to overheat the rifle.

The enemy just kept coming and coming. After about twenty minutes of firing the Pirates finally pulled back.

Kate climbed down to inspect the damage. Several marines and a couple of civilians lay dead in a pool of their own guts and blood. Kate had to avert her eyes.

"Kate"

"Yes Jacob?" she replied

"What now, they'll be back soon."

"I got some explosives hopefully they will take out most of the next wave. Do a head count; I need to know how many people are still up and fighting. Did they make it?"

"The woman and the children … they all made it."

_Thank God._

Kate quickly set to work arming the explosives. It was easy to set up thankfully, but they were not meant for ambushes as they were easy to spot. Kate had to scatter limbs and bodies around them to make the bombs harder to spot.

Kate almost threw up when she had to throw a child's arm amongst the rest of the 'camouflage'.

A squad of marines was diverting attention away from them so Kate wasn't worried about them getting shot at.

When it was done Kate returned to the sniper nest and began picking off targets again.

"How many people do we have here Jacob?"

"Four dozen marines and thirty civilians. This includes us by the way."

Kate swore under her breath. The only thing that gave her hope was the fact that HQ was built for holding out raids; the only thing it didn't take into consideration was the overwhelming amount of enemies. Thankfully Pirates were selfish, and would not move forward unless they thought that they would make it. No one on the other side of the wall risked their lives for one another. Motivation and camaraderie were on her side.

The raid was losing momentum. The loss at the wall had made the Pirates more cautious, causing them to be hesitant to try again. Something Kate was grateful for … it would buy time for reinforcements to arrive.

However the Pirates eventually gathered the courage to try and go through the hole in the wall.

"Kate, you see them?"

"Yeah Jacob, spot for me."

Jacob was silent, waiting for just the right moment.

"NOW!"

Kate hit the button on the detonator and … BOOM!

The place that the bombs, corpses, and enemies once resided now was a crater.

"HAHA! TAKE THAT YOU BATARIAN BASTARDS!" screamed Jacob

For once Kate actually had hope that they could survive this.

About two hours later however Kate's optimism was running on fumes.

Fifty-eight percent of the marines in HQ were killed and sixty- seven percent of the civilians who volunteered to fight were also dead.

"Jacob, how many pirates can you see?"

Kate fired, sending another pirate off to Hell.

"Too many to count."

Kate fired again. Yet another pirate who's head suddenly vanished.

Kate heard a loud droning noise and had no idea what to make of it.

"Jacob what is …"

Kate got her answer … when a mortar strike reduced the front gate to piles of rubble.

"FUCK! ALL HANDS TO THE FRONT GATE!" yelled Kate

All hands actually meant about twenty marines and ten civilians. It was a pitiful force.

The pirates and slavers poured though.

Kate shot off round after round, but nothing was stopping the killing machine that was a horde of angry Batarians.

Kate was using her Omni-tool and sniper but it wasn't making a dent. She watched as the pirates slowly butchered her squad.

A grenade found its way into Kate's little sniper nest.

_SHIT!_

Kate dived out of the tower, making it out just as the grenade went off. Kate landed hard, but other than having the breath knocked out her she was fine.

Kate and her people continued to fight, but it was an uphill battle. Every couple of minutes one of them would get shredded to pieces by the pirate bastards.

Kate popped back into cover as a burst almost took off her head.

Kate turned towards Jacob at the right time to see a round go straight through his shoulder, knocking him down … and he did not get up.

"Jacob" Kate gasped

There were only a few more survivors at this point but they kept fighting anyway, unwilling to give up one more inch of ground, and they paid for it … Kate was now alone.

Kate knew she was going to die at this point, and she was at peace with it. She would die taking out a small horde of Pirate bastards, making sure that no one else faced what she faced today. She drew her pistol and knife, then weaved in and out of cover, firing as she edged closer to the enemy.

Kate may not have had the skills of Jane at CQC but she was still much more skilled than these criminals. A snapped neck there, a slit throat there, and the occasional gunshot to the face was what Kate left behind as she moved towards the wall.

The Pirates were defenseless against a Special Forces operative whether it was at range or not. Most of them were straight up brawlers, which is one of the worst combat styles in Kate's opinion … it was just too clumsy. Kate was faster and still had more force behind her swings than these guys did. They might be scum but they depended on their victims being powerless, not the best in the galaxy. A lot of them even fired into the group hoping to kill Kate, but all the shots either missed or killed a fellow Pirate.

The Batarians started to panic, some even started to run away. Though Kate wasn't sure if it was because of her or something else.

When Kate was finished she was left with thirty corpses at her feet.

Kate looked up into the sky and saw several large objects fall through the sky, impacting where the dropships for the invaders were. The Pirate ships were being fired on.

_Reinforcements_

Jane watched for about ten minutes, at the beauty of the fruits of her labor. She was able to hold off the enemy long enough to safe at least some of the colonists.

Suddenly a Batarian rounded the corner and shot Kate in the chest with a shotgun sending her to the ground, and before Kate could recover the Batarian plunged a knife in her gut. Kate was left staring into the eyes of her killer-to-be as he snarled.

_Of course to die here just as reinforcements arrive. _

The images of her life actually flashed before her eyes, the last thing she was seeing was her sisters.

_Abbey and Jane I'm so sorry. Jane, please don't let this tear you down further._

The batarian got up and aimed his shotgun at her head.

"Human scum, we will drive you from the Verge, our rightful place."

Before the pirate could end it Kate heard a very familiar sound. The sound of her older sister screams of rage.

_HAHA YOU BATARIAN BASTARD, YOU ARE AS GOOD AS DEAD!_

"Doesn't sound like that day is today." Kate retorted

The Batarian opened his mouth to reply but he never got the chance to speak.

Jane charged and hit the Batarian straight in the chest, sending the man straight into the wall. Jane gave the man a quick beating before starting to pull his eye balls out of his head … while he was still conscious.

The screams were like nothing Kate had ever heard before and she pitied the Batarian even though he was the enemy. No one deserved the full unfiltered wrath of her older sister; Kate hoped that the pain would knock him out sooner rather than later.

This particular Batarian was lucky as he passed out pretty quickly. Jane finished ripping his eyes out before slitting his throat. Finally snapping out of her blood lust Jane ran over to Kate. Jane lifted Kate into her arms and held her.

"Kate, stay with me. You'll be fine just stay awake. MEDIC!" Jane said, nearly choking on her words.

Kate had always known when Jane was lying, and she could tell that she was now. The desperation and tears in Jane's eyes gave it away. That and Kate could see how much blood was flowing out of her shotgun and stab wound, and she felt herself losing strength quickly.

"Hey Jane. I'm … glad that I … got to see you before I …"

"SHUT UP! YOU'LL BE FINE!" screamed Jane, a river of tears flowing out of her eyes.

Kate put a hand on her sisters cheek and wiped away as many of the tears as her weakened state allowed.

"P-P-Please don't l-l-leave Kate." Replied Jane

Kate smiled up at her older sister. "I love you so much. I need you to remember that. Tell Abbey …"

"Tell her yourself." Jane responded

"Jane … please." Kate replied. Kate loved Jane but Jane's stubbornness was getting in the way of the small amount of time they had left.

"Tell Abbey that I'm sorry and that I love her. Jane I love you so much, but please don't let this suffocate you, stay strong for Abbey. Promise me."

"Kate …"

"PROMISE ME!" Kate snapped

Jane started to cry again and Kate felt guilty for snapping at her sister on her 'death bed'.

"I'm sorry Jane …"

"Jane!" cried a third voice.

Jane's eyes had a light that hadn't been there a second ago … and the light in Kate's was rapidly dimming.

Kate's vision got particularly blurry and she could see Jane struggling to keep her awake.

Then everything went black.

**Later Kate's POV**

Kate slowly opened her eyes, wincing at the bright lights.

When Kate finally worked up the strength to open her eyes she discovered that she was in some sort of hospital.

_Why am I in a hospital?_

Kate looked down at her body and discovered an oxygen tube going down her throat.

And in less than a heart beat an unreasonable, indescribable panic filled her as she desperately tried to pull the tube out of her.

Kate could hear alarms starting to go off but that wasn't really her concern. She wanted … needed … to be free of the damn tube.

Her hands were clumsy though and she couldn't get a good grip. Before she made any real progress several people had pinned her hands to the bed.

If Kate wasn't panicked before she was now. The last thing she could remember was fighting someone … and that she was hurt. She must have been captured.

Kate shot her head forward and connected it with the closest person. The others paused for a second seeing their comrade go down … big mistake. Kate shook off their arms and sent another to the ground with a well placed punch to the gut.

Kate knowing that time was of the essence grabbed the tube, took a breath, and pulled hard.

It hurt coming up but when she could breathe again without the machine she decided that it was worth it.

Kate made a move to get up but a new person pushed back down … hard.

Kate struggled, desperately trying to break free. This new enemy was stronger than her, but at the same time seemed to be using restraint. It was a confusing combination.

Kate tried to head butt her adversary but it was too quick. It grabbed her head and slammed it back down on the bed, but was careful not to hurt her too much.

_It doesn't want to hurt me, why?_

The thought eased its why into Kate's mind but she was too panicked to pay attention to it. She just kept flaying her arms hoping it would connect.

"Kate" someone whispered

Kate stopped fighting.

_I know that voice._

Kate starred up at her captor, noticing a feint red blur.

Suddenly the image came into focus, leaving Kate starring into Jane's eyes. Jane looked terrified.

"Jane" Kate responded

Jane's eyes sparkled.

Kate moved forward suddenly and pulled her sister in for a hug.

"Jane, where am I?"

"It's okay, I got you. You are on Arcturus Station."

Kate buried her face in her sister's shoulder.

Jane started to rock gently back and forth. Kate wasn't sure how long they were like this but Kate wished it could have lasted forever. She could hear the shuffling of others in the room, and before long she heard the door open and close again.

Jane was the first to pull back, but when she did she lifted Kate's chin to make her look into her eyes.

"Don't you ever do that again." Jane commanded

Kate nodded and pulled her sister back into a hug.

"You always enjoyed hugs as a child."

"Is that a complaint?"

"Absolutely not. Continue to cuddle please."

"Then shut up and cuddle."

They both got a good laugh out of that.

"Despite wanting to keep you for myself you do have a younger sister on the comm. for you."

Jane turned on her Omni-tool and started a holo call.

"Kate, oh thank God you're alright." Said Abbey once she noticed Kate was up.

"Hey Abbey. How are you?"

Abbey snorted and replied "Seriously, you're asking me how **I'm **doing. While I do like that you care this is not about me, it's about you."

"I'm fine."

"If you were fine you wouldn't have been in a coma for a month."

Kate froze.

"Abbey" growled Jane

"I DIDN'T KNOW YOU HADN'T TOLD HER YET!" Abbey yelled back

Kate however was focused on how close she came to taking a ride with Death six feet under.

Kate snapped out of her thoughts though. One part to make sure her sister's didn't argue, the other part to distract herself over how she had lost a month of her life.

"I'm fine, just a little bit of a shock but that was going to happen anyway. But I need to know, what happened to Elysium?"

"You saved the colony; you're probably the biggest hero in the Alliance at this point." Abbey replied

"How many of the other marines survived?"

They hesitated to answer and Kate knew this was going to be awful.

"Most of the marines who were outside HQ were fine, pirates didn't focus on them. However … there was only one other marine survivor where you were."

Kate closed her eye and whispered "Just one?"

"It's Jacob"

Kate released a breath she didn't know she was holding. She had refused to believe everyone had died but … seeing them all go down made it difficult.

"Thank God, is he here?"

"No they discharged him from the hospital. Don't know where he is, dropped in to say hi once."

"Is he okay?"

Jane hesitated for a split second, which made Kate nervous. "He's hanging in there."

Suddenly the door to the room opened and several members of the Alliance brass walked in. Jane immediately stood up and saluted, while Kate saluted in her bed. Abbey just waited in silence.

"At ease" said the leader. He was edging on the older side of his life, but his air of confidence and authority was incredible despite, or probably because, of his age. He also had one Hell of a scar on the right side of his face. Based on the bars on his chest his was an Alliance Admiral, though she didn't recognize him.

His entourage was less impressive, there were two Captains and one Commander. Kate decided they really weren't of importance at the moment.

"Shepards, it nice to finally make your acquaintance. I'm Admiral Hackett, Fifth Fleet."

"It's an honor Sir." Replied Kate

"No. Today the honor is mine. I came to personally thank you for your heroic actions on Elysium."

"Thank you sir … but I don't believe I'm a hero."

Jane snorted at that one, obviously in disapproval of her sister's words.

Hackett arched his right brow but continued. "Kate, thanks to you ninety percent of the population survived. I think that makes you a hero."

Kate didn't argue; she knew he had a point but still … almost everyone under her command had died.

"I also wanted to inform you that you will be receiving the Star of Terra next week so be ready for an award ceremony."

Kate could hear the clank of Jane's jaw hitting the floor.

"The Star of Terra?"

The Star of Terra, one of the highest awards in the Alliance Military. Soldiers who received this were usually thought of as Heroes of Humanity … and she was receiving one.

"You are the only reason that Elysium is still standing. If they had breached the Alliance HQ they could have gotten access to the locations and access codes of all the Vaults in the area. They would have gotten everyone. You effectively saved millions of lives … Commander. Until the award ceremony you are all on leave, enjoy it." Replied Hackett

As soon as he said that he left the room along with his subordinates.

"The Star of Terra" mumbled Kate

"I think a celebration is in order, with lots of booze." Replied Jane

Kate nodded in agreement.

"I've got to get back but … Kate I love you so much, and I'm so proud of you. I'm pretty sure that I can make it back to Arcturus for the award ceremony, see you two there. Love you both."

"Love you too Abbey." Replied both Kate and Jane

Abbey nodded and ended the call.

"So, off to get shit faced right?" asked Jane

"When I can." Replied Kate

Suddenly realization hit Kate.

"Did he call me Commander when he left?" asked Kate

Jane's pupils doubled in size.

"He did." Jane responded

"Another reason for drinks." Jane replied

"It is indeed."

**Five hours later Kate's POV**

Kate was sitting in the apartment that the Alliance loaned her when they announced that she was going to be getting the Star of Terra. She was on the couch, enjoying her medical leave.

Kate was looking at the glass containing her victory drink, but she wasn't sure if she had been victorious … not really. A lot of people got left behind down there, but she was also wondering how lucky she was for having a sister that pulled her ass out of the fire every time she was about to get burned.

"Kate … what's wrong? I can tell when you are deep and thought."

"It's just that … thank you Jane. If you hadn't been there ..."

Jane walked over and put a finger on Kate's mouth to stop her from talking, then knelt down to look at Kate from the same height level.

"Kate, you don't have to thank me. I'm always going to be here for you, no matter what."

"But Jane, don't you realize that you are always saving Abbey and I. You deserve to be thanked."

Jane just sighed and sat next to her sister, and Kate put her head on Jane's shoulder.

"You know, that month you were out was the most terrifying time of my life. I was there every day, as long as I was allowed … and sometimes when I wasn't. That whole month I was afraid that you weren't going to get up … and if you did that you would be angry with me that I wasn't able to help you sooner."

Kate placed a kiss on Jane's cheek and replied "You know even if I hadn't waken up till two years later I wouldn't have blamed you right?"

"Yeah I do, but I would sure as Hell blame myself."

"I hope one day you won't blame yourself for things like this."

"That isn't happening anytime soon."

"I know, and I love you for it." Replied Kate as she kissed her sister's cheek again.

**One Week Later Kate's POV**

Kate was holding the Star of Terra in her hands, hardly believing it was real.

The ceremony was nice, if a little boring. Abbey had been able to make it back to Arcturus Station for it, which was great. Jacob had made it too … well him most of him anyway. When Kate discovered that his arm had been amputated … well that ruined the day just a little, though he insisted that it wasn't her fault. He had actually thanked her for saving his life, which was something Kate felt like she really didn't do.

"Kate"

"Hey Jane" Kate replied when she looked up.

Jane was wearing a small frown which made Kate nervous.

"What's wrong?" Kate asked

"I was told by the shrink that you refused to speak to him again."

_Of course, she would know I've been avoiding that man._

'I'm fine Jane"

"No you're not. You faced a horde of at least a thousand pirates. No one would be fine after that."

"Jane I said I'm ..."

"Fine, I noticed. But now that we have the lie out of the way talk to me."

"Jane … what do you want me to say. I lost almost everyone. I killed them."

"No you didn't."

"Jane I …"

"Did you deal out the fatal blow?"

"No but I …"

"Then you didn't kill them. You need to move on or it …"

Kate shot up to her feet. Her sister's remarks about moving on were just too soon.

"NOT EVERYONE IS LIKE YOU JANE! NOT EVERYONE CAN JUST GET THEIR PEOPLE KILLED AND NOT CARE!" Kate screamed. The part of her mind that was still rational was questioning why she was so angry of a sudden, but it was outweighed by the guilt and anger caused by Elysium that was bursting out of the seams.

Normally Kate would beg forgiveness for saying something like that but she was just too angry to right now.

Jane sat there, with absolutely no emotion on her face … and it pissed Kate off even more.

Kate took a swing at the wall, and she could tell she broke something in her hand due to the crack.

Jane gently grabbed a hold over it and examined it like a concerned mother.

Kate realized right there how worried Jane was, and the guilt of what she had said finally crept in.

"Jane I'm sorry."

"I know, don't worry about it."

Kate was ashamed of herself, as usual after screaming at Jane. Jane basically raised her, was always caring for her and this was the thanks she got?

_How can you put up with me, after all that you do for me?_

"You're my sister, and I love you. That's how."

Kate could feel blood rushing to her face when she realized that she had said her question out loud.

Jane wrapped a few bandages over her hand, why she had them on her Kate had no idea.

_Always prepared? Or was she expecting me to lash out?_

When Jane finally let go Kate pulled her into a hug and started to rock gently.

Abbey chose that moment to walk into the hotel room they were sharing.

"Something wrong?"

Kate was about to explain when Jane said "Just cuddles."

Kate appreciated the white lie.

Abbey smirked; putting down the package she had brought in with her and went into join them.

They held each other for a couple minutes, reliving what they would do on the street when they were just five, when they were scared or hungry, and all they had was each other.

"What is that Abbey?" asked Kate

"Picture frames."

"Huh?" replied Jane

Abbey pulled out three picture frames and handed one to Jane and one to Kate.

"I was going to do this the next time we all saw each other." Explained Abbey

It was a digital picture frame that held a picture of the one they took after the award ceremony. It had Kate in the center with one sister on each side of her. The smiles on their faces were so warm it almost melted Kate's heart.

"Abbey … thank you." Replied Kate and Jane

"Anything for you two." Abbey replied

It was the final day of leave for the three, but Kate was pleased to spend the last few hours of it with her sisters, the people who meant everything to her. They just sat the time away talking, about anything that came to mind.

Before they retired for the night Kate got a message on her Omni-tool.

Kate opened it up and was left speechless.

"Kate?"

Kate didn't answer so Jane was forced to look at the Omni-tool herself. Jane was rendered just as speechless … almost.

"Jane?" asked Abbey

"She got … her N7 commendation."

It was silent for a moment … taking in the significance of this.

Jane and Abbey tore Kate out of her thoughts as they basically suffocated her between the two of them.

When they finally released her from their hug Jane commented "N7, should we even be surprised? Star of Terra after all."

The three eventually did go to sleep for the night, but Kate was left reeling from the implications of this.

_N7, best of the best._

Kate eventually fell into a dreamless, blissful slumber. The first time ever since waking from the hospital.

When the three woke up they gave each other one last family hug before heading out for active duty again, and Kate was left alone on the ride back to Rio to get her N7 designation.

_**I know in the Mass Effect Universe that most of the citizens on Elysium survived the attack, but I'm not sure why exactly, so I developed the vault idea. I think it could make sense, though I know that people will disagree with it. However it was the only way I saw several million people evading capture from the largest Pirate attack in the Traverse. After all the people on Horizon had the safety bunker or shelter when the Collectors attacked though they never really got to use it, so it would seem that colonies build them when they are small, but maybe a colony in the Traverse decided it would be best to have enough around for everyone. It makes sense to me, and I believe most of you will see that it makes sense at least in the theoretical sense.**_

_**So as you probably noticed the chapter was a bit shorter than the last chapter. The prologue is nearing an end so I'm making the chapters just a bit shorter, so hopefully I can pump more than just one a week, especially sense it is easier to write based on the game and not my ideas of how things happened before it. Since we are getting extremely close to the first game I wanted to tell you how it would play out, format wise. I will mention side quests but unless I deem them extremely important to the characters, which a few are, then I will mention the before and after. However the main missions such as Virmire will be completely covered. This story is based mostly on the game however I will make slight alterations, and I mean very slight so it won't affect the overall story of the franchise. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always I encourage you to review.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hello everyone. Probably didn't expect an update so soon. I have to warn you though if you there is a section that gets a little graphic, but it shouldn't be that bad unless you are squeamish and you can visualize things exceptionally well. In case you don't I will have the place where you should see it coming with three ***so fair warning. You should see it coming and a good place to skip to is the bold letters a bit further into if you need to. Usual disclaimer, I don't own Mass Effect as EA and Bioware do. I hope you enjoy. If you have questions feel free to PM or review and I will get back to you. **_

**One Year Later Abbey's POV**

"What do you see Abigail?"

Abbey bristled at the use of her name. The only person who ever called her Abigail, and the only person who really had the right, was her mother … and then only when she was angry or disappointed in her. Every time someone called her Abigail she would always start thinking of the times her mother was angry with her … and that was never an enjoyable experience. Thankfully those memories were in short supply, her mother rarely got angry.

Abbey snapped her mind to the Major who was waiting for her to answer.

"I can see the colony but I don't see anyone moving in or around it. It looks like a ghost town … Sir." Abbey replied

"Alright, it's almost night time so I guess we will set up camp here. Watch for signs of movement, I'll have someone relieve you in an hour."

"Yes Sir" Abbey answered dryly

As soon as the Major left she let out a sigh of relief. She hated that man.

The next hour was uneventful. Nothing moved. Nothing.

The stillness bothered Abbey. This was a colony not a graveyard, or at least that was the theory.

_What the hell happened?_

Abbey had trouble sleeping that night. Her mind coming up with interesting, though more like brutal, ideas to why the colonists were gone in an effort to keep her awake and sweating the entire night. Her mind succeeded.

That morning the entire platoon started to pack up to move. As soon as Abbey realized this she ran back to the Major, determined to change his idiotic mind.

"Sir, we should send in a recon team. We don't know what's in there."

"There are likely to be injured colonists in there. Do you suggest that we risk their lives by delaying further?"

"No Sir. What happens if we all die because we got ambushed because we didn't send in a recon team, those colonists die anyway. The colonists have a better chance if we take things slow and careful."

"We simply don't have the time Staff Lieutenant; I will not risk the lives of those colonists. Either pack up and move out or wait at the LZ with your future court martial for insubordination!" he yelled back

The man tried to make himself as large as possible to intimidate her but she was left unimpressed. But getting into an argument now was pointless.

"Yes Sir." She replied

Abbey saluted before walking away to grab her gear.

_How the fuck did that man make Major. Dumbass_

"Ma'am?"

Abbey turned to see a man shifting on his feet nervously.

"Yes?"

"The Major is ordering us to move out and we are going in for recon."

Abbey grinded her teeth at the man's words. Of course the bastard would put her in front, probably to get her killed if he could be so lucky. They had a team specifically dedicated to recon, and she was not part of it.

"Thank you …"

"Corporal Toombs"

"Thank you Toombs. Let's get going before the Major blows a gasket."

Toombs nodded.

The 'recon' team she was given was a collection of the more inexperienced members of the platoon, in fact other than her and Toombs the entire team had no combat experience.

_Fantastic. If we run into trouble, and if I survive, I'm going to shoot that man._

When the team was ready they reported back to the Major.

"Ready for deployment … Sir." Abbey remarked

"Go scout out the town, report anything you find and we'll be right behind you."

_Sure you are_

"Yes Sir" Abbey replied

Abbey lead her unit towards the town, it was a two mile hike but a two mile hike on flat terrain so it wasn't that bad. The day was lovely, nice weather, a shining sun with light cloud coverage. A perfect day.

That perfect day ended as soon as they stepped inside the colony.

There were giant cracks in the ground. Some of the buildings were falling apart, some of them still smoking for some sort of goo.

_Acid?_

"What am I looking at here?" Abbey asked

"No idea Ma'am … something happened here though." Replied Toombs

As they picked their way through the colony Abbey was surprised to find that there were no bodies. The place looked like a warzone, where the Hell are all the bodies?

"It looks like a warzone in here … but there aren't any bodies here Sir." Abbey called out over the comm.

Abbey was so engrossed in the scene that she didn't even pronounce Sir in an insult as she normally did with the Major.

"Alright we'll move …"

"No. we are almost done here and it doesn't look like there is anything we can do here. We'll grab some security recordings then head back."

Only silence responded to her.

After a minute she heard the Major reply "Alright … we'll play it your way. Malcolm out."

_Wow, he actually listened to me._

Abbey started towards the local Alliance shelter, which doubled for a police station on a colony this small.

"Alright people we'll pick up security recordings at the outpost them double time it back to the platoon, any questions?"

"No Ma'am" replied her unit

It was a small colony but it took time to safely cross the terrain. It turned out some of these cracks were giant sink holes.

When they turned the corner to the center of the colony they all stopped, and Abbey could hear all the gasps.

They found the bodies. ***

They were tossed everywhere. Almost all had been tossed around as was proved by the unnatural positions that most of them were in. A good percentage of them also looked … melted as limbs hanged by threads of skin, skulls being visible, and the look that some of them were partially melted. The rest of them had a puddle under their corpse, a slowly growing puddle.

The strange, and unfortunate part was that these bodies looked dead for about two weeks. Abbey had no idea why the remaining acid hadn't dissolved all the way through some of the bodies already.

_Were people still alive at the initial strike?_

The worst part was the smell. As soon as Abbey smelled it she knew that it would haunt her forever. The area smelled of acid, rotting corpses, and … something else. It was putrid and Abbey found herself on the ground trying to resist the urge to vomit, a sensation most of her squad had already given into.

Abbey looked up to see a little girl, whose torso had been melted through and the rest of her limbs hanging on, barely, by the bone. Her face frozen in a look of agony and pure fear, or would be if her face wasn't partly dissolved, exposing the brain that was slowly liquefying before her eyes.

That was the last straw.

Abbey's breakfast decided to come pay Abbey a visit. Abbey was hurling until she had nothing left in her system. Then she hurled a bit more.

After a few minutes Abbey could hear the rest of her squad dry heaving with her.

"Damn it" (heave) "we need to" (heave) "get out of here!" Abbey yelled

Abbey struggled to her feet and pulled the nearest member of her squad around the corner.

Abbey fell to the ground holding her head as she tried to block out the memories clawing their way in her head. She was failing.

Abbey could hear the sobs from her people and she was a little surprised that she hadn't joined them.

_Damn it Abbey you are on a mission, pull yourself together!_

_Did you not see that! That was a fucking nightmare and you want me to be calm?!_

_WE'LL IF YOU STICK AROUND YOU MIGHT FIND OUT WHAT DID THAT, BECAUSE I CAN GURANTEE YOU THAT WAS NOT THE WORK OF SLAVERS!_

Abbey conceded to the rational part of her mind and stood up.

"Sir … we found the bodies, it looks like most of the colony. They're all dead." Abbey called into her comm.

"We're coming in." replied the Major

"NO! This was not the work of slavers, this was something else. HALF THE BODIES WERE MELTED! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE WHATEVER DID THIS COMES BACK!"

Surprisingly the Major didn't say anything, no angry retorts nothing.

"Abigail we need to find out what happened. We are on the move."

Abbey fell back to the floor. She realized that for once the Major was right; she was letting her emotions get a hold over her. She had to stay strong. She had to be like Jane, just once.

"We need to leave. Get up; we are regrouping with the platoon."

No one argued, why would they? Regrouping meant more time away from that graveyard, more time away from that ungodly smell.

They struggled to walk back to the edge of the colony, more than one collapsing on the way. But Abbey stayed strong, for their sakes more than her own.

It took a lot longer getting back than it had going in, but that wasn't surprising. They made it to the edge of the colony when Abbey caught sight of the platoon and their two Mako escort.

"We see you, we'll be there in a few minutes." Said the Major over the comm.

"I hear you Sir." Abbey responded

The ground started to shake, but just slightly.

_Probably my imagination._

"Anyone else feel that?" asked Toombs

"Was it a quake?" asked one of the others

The shaking started again, except it was more pronounced.

"I don't think that was a quake." Commented Abbey

"Sir are you picking up vibrations?"

"Yes, it's probably a quake."

The Major was so quick to dismiss a mystery or outcome he didn't like, the biggest reason that Abbey despised the man.

Abbey noticed a slight path of dirt moving towards the convoy.

_Oh Shit_

Before Abbey could warn the Major the moving trail was under them.

**AWGHWGHWGHWGHWGHWGWH**

A giant creature burst forth from the ground, like a monster clawing its way out of their grave to feed. This creature seemed to have the same idea. It seemed to suck up a pair of marines that were just at the right angle for the worm to bend over and pick them up. When the head moved back up a split second later the pair was nowhere to be found.

Abbey could barely make out the Major screaming out orders, or maybe just screaming … Abbey wasn't paying him much attention to him, she had bigger issues than some inept officer.

The monster regurgitated some sort of liquid onto another group of marines who had decided to bolt for it. By the time they hit the ground they were smoking as the acid did its work.

If there were any doubts that this creature wasn't responsible for the death of the colonists before they were gone now.

This creature wiped Akuze from the face of the galaxy.

"LET'S GO!" screamed Abbey

To their credit not one of her people even hesitated, let alone refused. They all started to bolt closer to the platoon. They all needed to work together to kill this thing.

"Major are you there!?" she screamed over the comm.

"He's gone, the Major is gone! WHAT DO WE DO!" screamed an unknown marine

"WE FIGHT OR WE DIE! EVERYONE SPREAD OUT! WE NEED TO KILL THIS THING HERE AND NOW! MAKO TEAM FIRE!" Abbey yelled

No one answered her but she could tell people were obeying her orders as they spread out, making sure that there was no way that the creature could kill more than one at a time, and the bangs of the Mako's main cannon gave her a sliver of hope.

The creature, which she dubbed 'the worm', screeched against the onslaught of bullets. Alone each rifle man was worthless but together they could do something. Suddenly the creature disappeared below the surface.

"Did we kill it?" asked Toombs

Abbey wasn't sure, forty rifles all firing at you was a pretty quick death for all forms of life she knew about … but that thing was big.

The ground started to shake again.

"HEADS UP!" screamed Abbey

**AWGHWGHWGHWGHWGHWGWH**

It reared its ugly face yet again. The marines opened fire again but this time the worm didn't hold back.

It swept its scythe like appendages in a hemisphere, instantly killing anyone who wasn't able to duck under it, and taking out one of the tanks at the same time. The scythe had cut through the front of the tank like tissue paper, most likely killing the driver instantly.

The platoon instantly went from about forty to about thirty. At this rate they would be dead in less than five minutes. Abbey was a strategist and she wasn't playing to her strength … adapting on the fly. She needed to change that.

"KEEP FIRING!" Abbey screamed as she ran to the downed Mako, which was the closer of the two.

When she got to the tank she noticed that a few body parts were lying around the tank. Refusing to give in to her overwhelming desire to vomit she opened up the door and climbed in. Abbey climbed her way to the front to discover that the controls for the main gun were working … but the camera used to aim it was not.

"Toombs! I need you on top of the Mako to help aim the damn gun!"

"On it!" he yelled back

Abbey in the mean time started to reactivate the gun.

Abbey heard two thumbs on top of the Mako and she knew Toombs was in position.

"To the right thirty degrees and up fifty!" he yelled out

Abbey plugged it into the controls.

"Wait for it … NOW!"

She smacked the fire button and felt the gun kick.

**AWGHWGHWGHWGHWGHWGWH**

"Did we get it?"

"I think so."

Abbey went over to the door and walked out, feeling as if all the weight on her shoulders was taken off.

Then she saw a subtle change in the dirt under the Mako … with Toombs still on top.

"Toombs jump!"

Toombs started to move but he was too slow. Just before Toombs could jump the worm burst from the ground, going straight through the Mako, and knocking Toombs clear of the Mako. Based on the way he landed there was little chance that he survived.

_DAMN IT!_

However she had more pressing concerns. The worm seemed to have been trapped inside the Mako as it was struggling to try and go back underground.

_This is our chance._

"Everyone open fire, Mako fire!"

And so a hail of bullets was unleashed, but it didn't seem to matter, the worm just wouldn't die. The worm however was fighting harder than ever. Being trapped in the Mako must have caused its flight or fight instincts to truly kick in … and it couldn't flee.

It was regurgitating at a ridiculous rate, spewing some sort of acid everywhere. A bit even landed on her helmet but she had been fast enough to throw it off. Some of her fellow marines were not so lucky. Abbey had to jump over several bodies as she weaved in and out of cover trying to doge the acid that was raining down on them.

The good news was that she could see blood starting to coat the creature. Red blood was flowing out of several holes near the top of the things neck, not the head but really close.

The worm was screaming, in pain or anger Abbey didn't know, and thrashing.

Then it lunged forward, carrying the Mako with it, as it impaled the other Mako on its scythes. Abbey screamed out in horror, the Mako was their last hope. However something must have deemed Abbey worthy of surviving as the Mako exploded when the worm's head was right next to it.

The worm started to thrash more until it finally collapsed and started to slide back into the earth. However it was unable to submerge due to the Mako still wrapped around it.

Abbey just stood there for a moment, taking in the fact that it was dead … and that she had survived.

Abbey fell back to the ground and just sat there admiring the view of a giant dead worm.

_One for the record books._

After what felt like hours she climbed back to her feet and started calling for her surviving teammates.

"Hello?"

No answer.

"HEEEELLLLLLOOOOOOO!" she screamed

Same response.

Abbey fell to her knees, she had lost everyone.

Abbey thought she was going to cry, but realized that she had no more tears left to shed. They were all gone, left with the part of her that had died after seeing the colonists.

_Abbey you have a job to do._

"SSV Warsaw do you copy, this is Staff Lieutenant Abigail Shepard. Do you read?"

"Lieutenant Shepard this is Captain Shelley. Where is the Major?"

"Dead, along with everyone else in the unit."

The captain didn't answer for a few moments, the shock evident through the silence. Finally she asked "What happened?"

"Attacked by an unknown alien life form. A giant worm that burrows through the ground. My video log is still operational."

"Alright, can you make it back to the ship?"

"The Makos were destroyed."

"Alright, we'll send the third, just start walking."

Abbey started to check for survivors, and every half melted body she found only discouraged her. Eventually she gave up and started walking.

Abbey walked, and walked. She just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. It kept the images of everything that had happened here away, and Abbey was thankful for it.

Eventually she heard the sounds of a Mako's engines. Abbey pulled out her binoculars and started searching. When she looked in she saw another worm bursting for the ground to attack the Mako in front of her.

_No no no no no no_

Abbey couldn't move. She was stuck watching in horror as it ripped the Mako into pieces. It feasted on the bodies that had been thrown clear of the wreckage … then looked right at her. It burrowed itself into the ground and raced to her. She could see the ground subtly shifting as it tore through the Earth to get to her.

Abbey still couldn't move.

_Jane. Kate. I'm sorry. I love both of you._

Then the binoculars were torn out of her hand. To say she was surprised that the Mako was sitting right in front of her, unscratched, was a monumental understatement. One of the marines was holding her binoculars and the rest were shifting on their feet nervously.

"What's wrong?" she asked after an uncomfortably long silence.

"Ma'am, you were just standing there, staring into those binoculars. We tried to talk to you but who wouldn't answer. Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm sorry for scaring you I was just distracted. A lot happened to today."

That seemed to be what they wanted to hear and the all stopped twitching.

"I'm sorry what happened down here. But it's over, let's go home."

"Agreed." She replied

Abbey was silent on the return trip, not that she was asked a lot of questions anyway. The most common one was 'What happened down there?" to which she would just look at the ground and shake her head. It didn't take long for the rescue team to realize that she didn't want to speak, and thankfully they respected that.

When they got back on board the first place she went was the Med-Bay. She didn't know if she had sustained any injuries but she intended to find out.

After an extremely long invasive examination she was released due to the lack of injuries. The Doctor wanted to keep Abbey there overnight but Abbey had refused.

Abbey was just finished stowing away her gear when her comm. beeped with a message.

'Abbey, come to the debriefing room asap. I need to know what the hell happened out there. Bring any recordings you have.'

Abbey sighed.

_Just when I was about to go to sleep._

Abbey slowly cruised through the ship, walking at a causal pace despite being ordered up to the comm. room by the Captain.

When she opened the door to the comm. room the Captain was beginning to pace.

"Abbey, you have the recordings?"

"Yes Ma'am"

Abbey turned on her Omni-Tool and uploaded the info into the projector that was in the comm. room.

Jane skipped it forward to the part where the team started to enter the town. Abbey watched as she approached the damn graveyard.

When the video arrived at that point the smell returned to her mind. It smelled like she was actually there.

_The smell … OH GOD … I-I can't_

_GOD DAMN IT. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU. YOU DON'T SEE JANE BREAKING DOWN LIKE THIS DO YOU. _

_She hasn't seen …_

_REALLY, YOU THINK SHE HASN'T SEEN HORRORS LIKE THIS. GET YOU HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS._

Abbey shook her head and the smell disappeared.

The Captain wasn't saying anything, giving no hint of what she was thinking at that moment.

Abbey watched again as 'the worm' tore through her entire platoon. She watched, but she did not give into her fear. She watched with indifference, like it was a movie not a slaughter that she had been a part of.

The Captain turned it off after 'the worm' died.

"Abbey …."

"I'm fine Captain."

The Captain turned to stare into her eyes, unwavering. So was Abbey. It was quiet for a good five minutes as the Captain analyzed her.

"Abbey, you just peeked through the gates of Hell. You are telling me that you are fine, you think that is going to work on me?"

"I was terrified down there, and I believe that it cost people their lives. Once that was over I realized that I was weak, and now that part of me lies buried with the rest of my people. Problem solved."

The Captain's eyes dilated slightly. It seemed like that was not what she was expecting.

"You think that was your fault? It wasn't, it was no ones. You need to believe that."

_See it wasn't my fault, the Captain agrees._

_Don't start, we both know it was. Now go hide like that little coward you are._

_But…_

_DON'T. YOU DID NOTHING BUT HOLD US BACK! WHO KNOWS WHO COULD HAD SURVIVED IF I DIDN'T HAVE TO PICK UP THE SLACK FOR YOU. GO!_

It was quiet in her mind again, blissful silence.

"Yes Ma'am" Abbey replied

The Captain looked unconvinced.

"Alright then. We will send crews to collect the bodies. After that we are heading back to Arcturus station to deliver our reports. When we arrived you **will **be getting a pysch evaluation. Until then you are relieved. Understood?"

"Yes Ma'am."

Abbey walked back to her room, ignoring all the concerned glances that were sent her way. She did not want pity. That was the last thing she wanted.

Abbey turned into the night.

Abbey awoke the next morning. She was slightly surprised that she wasn't plagued with nightmares all night. It was nice not to be covered in an ocean of sweat.

The next week was a long and slow ordeal. Being relieved of duty meant she had nothing to do. Nothing at all.

Abbey almost begged the Captain to let her do something but the Captain was adamant.

"You need time to recover, and I can't risk you going crazy and doing something to endanger the ship."

Abbey conceded after that.

_At least she was honest about the fact she thinks I may have gone off the deep end._

Abbey spent most of her time cleaning her weapons. It was a welcome distraction and it was something she needed to do anyway. Eventually she ended up cleaning the weapons in the armory to occupy herself, under the Quartermasters supervision of course.

The Quartermaster had also been brutally honest.

"I'm watching you to make sure you don't kill anyone, including yourself."

He was surprised when Abbey actually thanked him for his honesty.

Finally the time had come. They made it back to the station.

Abbey made her way to the psychiatric wing of the hospital there.

"Can I help you Ma'am" asked the clerk

"I was order to report here for a pysch eval."

"Name?"

"Staff lieutenant Abbey Shepard."

"Room 174"

"Thank you"

Abbey eventually found the room. Normally any soldier would be terrified of a shrink, but as she had told herself and the Captain all her fear was buried on Akuze. She opened the door.

Inside was the shrink in question.

She stood up and said "Hello, my name is Dr. Calhoun. You are Abigail Shepard, correct."

"Yes, though I prefer Abbey."

"My apologies Abbey. Would you like anything before we begin?"

"No thank you."

"Alright."

Abbey took a on the couch next to the Doctor.

"How are you feeling?" asked Calhoun

It was a simple question, but it was something that needed to be asked.

"I'm fine."

"I saw all of the footage. Somehow fine doesn't seem to be accurate. You faced Hell down there."

Abbey was surprised at the doctor's words, most shrinks would have just 'accepted' her line and try to gently get a confession out of her about her true feelings. Calhoun didn't hesitate to call her out.

_I like this one._

"Alright, got me there. I'm not fine, but I have to be. I need to push on for the sake of others. I can't wallow in self pity. I do that and people will pay the price."

"If you wallow in self pity that can happen. But talking isn't wallowing in self pity. Besides what do you have to be sorry about?"

"A lot of people didn't make it, a lot of people died because I couldn't save them."

"No one died because you aren't strong enough. They all signed up knowing that they could die."

"What about the Colonists?"

"They signed up to settle on remote planets. Of course they knew this could happen."

_Fair point, though I'm sure they didn't expect to die like that._

Abbey realized that she didn't know what was really holding her back. She knew causalities happened, she knew now that none of what happened was her fault.

_What is it? Wait … I know._

"You are right Doctor, about all of that. I just realized that none of that is what bothered me."

"Then what was it?"

"I doubted myself. After years of following my instincts I let panic get in the way. I don't know if I cost someone's life but I **know **that it almost cost me."

"What saved you then?"

_Me_

"I don't know, luck maybe. I think that is what bothered me. I should be the one that keeps me alive not chance."

_Liar_

The doctor was silent. Obviously this wasn't what she was expecting. Abbey didn't blame her, not many sole survivors are bothered by the fact they lucked out more than the fact the rest of their friends died. It was a bit cold, and Abbey was surprised that she was capable of being so indifferent to death.

Abbey used to believe that she was a lot more like Kate than Jane. Abbey was more sympathetic and much more understanding than Jane could ever be. But this revelation shook her to the core. She realized that death did not bother her, at least not nearly enough to consider herself like Kate.

There it was. That was what truly bothered Abbey. She was unlike both of her sisters and she just realized it. She was more alone than she ever was before. She didn't care so much that her unit was wiped form the face of the universe; she was scared and angry because for the first time in her life she felt alone because she didn't know who she was.

_Is it so bad to be alone, no one close less pain in the long run?_

_Are you serious, that is the most pessimistic thing I have ever heard you say. _

_It's something Jane would have said._

_And it is something that Kate would disapprove of._

_Guess we are at an impasse then._

Abbey continued to answer the questions the Doctor asked for the rest of her two hour evaluation. Abbey was desperate to make sure she answered her questions to what she described as 'correct'. Answers that would show that Abbey was damaged by this but that she would recover.

The evaluation was about over when the Doctor stood up.

"Abbey, due to this discussion I believe that you are clear for duty. However make sure you don't push yourself too hard."

Abbey herself stood up and walked to the door.

Before she left though she turned around and said "Doctor … Thank you."

"You're welcome" she replied with a smile.

Abbey returned the gesture and left. On her way out Abbey realized that she was looking at the world a lot differently than the way she saw things when she walked in. That scared the hell out of her.

Abbey was later summoned to debrief with some of the brass stationed on Arcturus Station.

When she arrived she was surprised to see Admiral Hackett in the conference as well. He was usually running patrols with the Fifth fleet as far as she heard.

"Staff Lieutenant Abigail Shepard, please be seated." Said a member of the Council.

Abbey took her seat across from the entire Council.

Abbey wasn't usually intimidated by Alliance brass but this was an exception. Everyone in the Alliance who decided military deployments all over the galaxy was here. This was the head of the Alliance Military.

"How can I help you Sirs" asked Abbey

"We wanted your opinion on these creatures." Asked Hackett

"Do you know what they are?"

"Yes, they are called Thresher Maws. This is the first time the Alliance has ever encountered one though." Answered one of the Admirals on the right side of the room.

_Obviously _

"What do you want to know?"

"You have firsthand experience fighting one and coming out alive. We saw the footage of the Colony. How do we defend a colony from that?"

"You don't. The thing can bury under any building and then gut it with its body."

That was not the answer the board wanted to hear. They all start shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

Abbey really wished she had an answer, she really did.

She retreated back to her memories of when the Thresher Maw was attacking. It was fast when it went underground. Extremely fast. But Abbey remembered that the way to the colony was over soft ground. The giant sinkholes in the colony were in field areas, not roads or under buildings. The thing didn't like bursting through terrain that would actually give it difficulty.

"Admirals" said Abbey as she returned to the present.

They all turned towards her. It appeared that several of them were in a very heated argument. Abbey was surprised that the yelling didn't stir her from her memories.

"The Thresher Maw only emerged from softer ground, like dirt. It only emerged in the fields inside the colony not the roads. Thresher Maws prefer soft ground, probably because they can borrow through it easily. So the best thing to do is build colonies over dense ground. Maybe near mountains as well. Hopefully that would limit the areas which the thing can pop out of the ground. Also sending in equipment for ground penetrating radar would help as well."

Now that was the answer the Admirals were all originally hoping for.

They all looked at each other and nodded.

"Well I guess that is a good idea. Most of that is possible. Guess we should also send some of that radar equipment to existing colonies as well." Commented another member on the board.

"Lieutenant Shepard, thank you for your assistance with this matter. I express my deepest condolences over what happened." Said Hackett

"Thank you Sir."

"Before you go, you are hereby promoted to Lieutenant Commander. Good luck."

"T-Thank you Sir." Replied Abbey

"You are dismissed Commander." Hackett replied

Abbey walked out of that room stunned. She was promoted after losing almost everyone. What kind of sense did that make?

Abbey returned to the ship confused. Apparently news traveled fast as most of the crew members congratulated her.

The first thing she did when she got to her room was try to get some sleep.

Abbey awoke to find herself on Akuze again. Abbey was with her squad as they were leaving the colony. Most of them still gagging.

Abbey let them catch their breath when she got a call from the platoon.

"Abbey you okay over there?" called out Jane over the comm.

_Oh no_

Abbey was speechless.

"Abbey, something wrong?" asked Kate

_SHIT_

Abbey was still unable to speak. She wanted to desperately warn her sisters to stay way. But no matter how much she screamed mentally she was completely silent.

"Abbey, hang on! We're coming!" yelled Jane over the comm.

NO! STAY AWAY!

Abbey pulled up her binoculars and stared at the convoy that was coming towards her.

Then the Thresher Maw rose out of the ground. It was even bigger this time and she could see the platoon break apart.

"ABBEY! HELP!" screamed Kate

Abbey was unable to move. She watched in horror as she knew that both of her sisters were about to pay for her weakness.

Suddenly she could she … herself? It looked exactly like her but one half of the armor she wore was red and the other half blue. It ran into one of the Makos and opened fire. The Thresher Maw screamed under the barrage and died.

Abbey finally regained the ability to move and she double timed it to the platoon.

When she arrived she found both of her sisters tending to the wounded. However her doppelganger approached her.

It was about three feet away from her when it stopped.

It was disorienting to look at it … her? The colors over the armor slowly started to shift. The red moving to the blue side and vice versa. The colors moved like water rolling across table. The colors never mixed though. They may have collided but they still stayed their same colors.

The most unnerving thing however was the doppelganger's face. It was shifting in a continuous cycle of her face, Kate's, Jane's, and then repeated the cycle over again.

It didn't say anything. It just stared at her.

It finally spoke.

"Who are you?" it asked

Abbey looked down to see that the color of her armor was blue and red and was even shifting just like the doppelganger's armor had. When she looked up she discovered that she was staring into a mirror. She was shifting just like the doppelganger. Was there even a doppelganger to begin with?

_Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?_

Abbey woke up to find several of her fellow crew members staring at her. They all looked terrified.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, terrified of the answer.

"Are you okay? You just kept muttering in your sleep." Said the closet one

"What was I saying?" Abbey responded

"Who are you?" said the crewmember that addressed her earlier

Abbey was going to respond that she was okay and it was just a bad dream. But something inside her mind stopped her.

"I don't know who I am." Abbey replied before she rolled over to go back to sleep.

Abbey good hear them talking to each other, obviously worried.

Abbey eventually slipped back into her dream, just staring into the mirror and her shifting appearance.

**One Week Later Abbey's POV**

Abbey had just finished her shift when the shipboard comm. activated.

"Commander Shepard please report to the comm. room." Said the Captain

Abbey turned back towards the comm. room.

When she arrived she found the Captain talking with David Anderson.

_Huh_

"Abbey. Glad you came so quickly. You have David Anderson on the line for you. After your done with this one you have another call waiting for you. Info is the machine; you just need to hit call." Said the Captain as she turned to leave.

"Thank you Ma'am"

Once the Captain left she turned back towards Anderson.

"It's nice to see you again Sir." Said Abbey

"It's nice to see you actually remembered me." Chuckled Anderson

"Can't forget the man you saved my sister from who knows amount of years in prison."

Anderson chuckled again. He then got serious.

"I heard about what happened. I'm sorry. However due to your actions you caught the attention of several members of the board here at 'the Villa'."

"Nothing bad I hope."

"Not at all. I'm here to inform you that as soon as you get back to Arcturus you're being shipped back to earth to receive you N7 designation."

Abbey felt the slight sensation of her jaw hitting the floor.

"N7 designation?!" she responded

"Yep."

Abbey just stood there speechless. A promotion and the N7 designation for the biggest failure in her career.

_What the fuck is wrong with everyone?_

Anderson chuckled again at the girl's confusion.

"Well I have to go but stay safe Abbey."

"You too Sir … and thank you."

"No need to thank me, you did the hard part. All I did was deliver a message."

Abbey was left in silence until Abbey remembered that the Captain told her to make a call.

She didn't recognize the address but she hit the call button anyway.

Soon, to her delight, both Jane and Kate appeared on the screen in front of her.

"Abbey" said both of her sisters

"Hey guys. Haven't seen you guys in forever!" exclaimed Abbey

The conversation started out as the two groups caught up with each other. But as Abbey expected it got serious.

"Abbey …" Kate said

"I'm fine."

"Abbey. That's bullshit and you know it. Talk to us … please." Jane replied, almost begging.

"What do you want me to say; really what do you want me to say? I lost everyone … EVERYONE. I know it wasn't my fault but the wound is still fresh. I just need time I promise."

Both of her sisters eyed each other.

"Okay" Jane replied

"Thank you."

"A little birdie told me someone got a promotion … and a neat little N7 designation." Kate teased

"Yeah I did. It was a bit of a shock but not in a bad way."

"I know how you feel." Responded Kate

_Oh I believe you._

"Hey Abbey I'm sorry but we have to go. Remember we are proud of you, stay safe." Said Jane

"You too"

"Love you" said the two of them

"Love you both" Abbey replied

Jane terminated the call.

_It was great just to talk to them again._

Abbey grabbed some food on the way down. When she was done she went back to her room for some shut eye.

Abbey found herself in the same place as she always was when she went to sleep. The walls shifting from blue to red, and red to blue. In the middle of this room was the mirror she was always drawn to. When she approached she saw herself … or was it Kate, maybe Jane. It was hard to tell.

Abbey just stared at the mirror while a familiar message repeated itself over and over in her mind.

_Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?_

_**And there is Akuze. A lot of mental doubt in her mind, poor girl. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was fun, and slightly painful, to write it. Not a huge Author's comment this time. So thank you for reading and I encourage you as always to review.**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hello again everyone. Welcome to Chapter 7 of The Family of Three. As you guys should have known it is on to Torfan. I don't own Mass Effect or any of its characters as they belong to EA and Bioware hope you enjoy. As always I encourage you to speak up if you have something to say.**_

* * *

**One Year Later Jane's POV**

Jane was strapped into the back of a Mako, preparing for the drop to Torfan.

_Torfan, what a hell hole._

The briefing stated that Torfan was a moon that was suspected of pirate use. After the Skyllian Blitz, what people now referred to as the raid on Elysium, the Alliance begin serious investigation into pirate locations. When Torfan was investigated it was expected that there would be minimal pirate presence. However what the Alliance found was … surprising.

The moon was the largest pirate base seen in Alliance history. There were buried bunkers all over the moon. The place was a fortress.

The Alliance assembled almost all of the available N7s and N6s in the galaxy to attack along with two fleets and several divisions of Alliance Marines. An invasion force.

This was the most important mission that Jane had ever received in her career. She was determined to win.

Jane was disappointed by the fact that her sisters were both off on their own missions when the call came out. It would have been nice to go on a mission with them again. These last few years just didn't feel right without them.

"Prepare for drop." Called out her commanding Officer, Major Kyle.

Jane checked her restraints, they were good. Jane started her ritual of steady breathing before a mission.

"3…2…1…DROP!"

Jane felt a moment of freefall right before the inertial dampeners kicked in.

It was a full ten seconds before she felt the thump of the Mako land.

"Alright everyone out of the Mako!" screamed the Major

Jane undid the restraints and ran out. As soon as all of her fellow marines were clear the Mako sped off, probably off to the front lines.

Jane could see heavy fighting off in the distance. It appeared that the pirates were giving the Alliance a run for their money. The invasion was going worse than she thought it would … and the invasion started less than half an hour. Very alarming.

"Shepard!" called the Major

Jane sprinted towards him.

"Yes Sir?"

"I need you to take a squad and flank the facility to your 8 o'clock. The bunker is buried under a hill. Once you clear it out you can use the height advantage to snipe and spot for the rest of the invasion force."

"Yes Sir" replied to Jane as she turned to assemble her squad.

"Jeremy!"

"Yes Ma'am?"

"Assemble the squad, we are moving out."

"Alright"

Jane was glad to have Jeremy here. He was an N6 that was in her class. He was a good soldier but wasn't willing to take risks. That was the reason she was in charge.

Unfortunately Jeremy was the only person she was glad to have on the team. All the others were generic marines. They were slower, less accurate, and overall less effective than Jeremy and herself. But was that really a surprise, she was Special Forces after all. It wasn't their fault she kept reminding herself.

As soon as Jeremy gathered the squad she addressed them.

"Alright people. We have pirate scum hiding out in submerged bases all throughout this moon. We are here to avenge those who were lost in the Blitz. We face these monsters here to make sure that never again will pirates believe that they can march into our colonies, enslave our people, and just walk away. We are here to make them regret. IS THAT UNDERSTOOD MARINES!"

"SIR YES SIR!"

The right corner of Jane's lip twitched into a smile. They were ready. The fire behind their eyes was incredible. She wasn't expecting that to be honest.

"Alright let's move out." She ordered

They all formed out behind Jane. Jane went into an easy jog and they matched her pace.

It took ten minutes to make it to the base of the hill that was concealing one of the pirate safe houses.

The entrance was on top of the hill … but so was a setup of sniper nests, anti-vehicle turrets, and anti-infantry turrets.

_This is not good._

Thankfully there were seven other squads of fourteen here already. They were all pinned down however.

At the bottom of the hill was a wide assortment of rocks and boulders that made perfect cover. But the farther up the hill you looked the less cover there was.

_Fuck_

Jane motioned her squad to take cover.

Jane saw another N6 leading the squad closet to her.

"What's the plan?" She asked

"Jane that you?" asked a familiar voice.

"Maslow?" he replied

Another member from her N6 class.

_Good_

"Yep, good to see you. We are pinned down here. It's a war of attrition here. It might be a while until we can get up there." He replied

"We need to get up there fast. The longer they have us pinned the worse off it is going to be." She said

"No disagreement there, but there is almost no way we can get up there."

"Almost?"

"The only idea I have is leap frog from cover to cover. But as you can tell there isn't enough cover to shield everyone."

A moment of silence passed between them.

"Jane, this isn't some simulation here. People will die."

"You think I don't know that!? We don't have a choice. We have to go."

"But …"

"No buts. If we don't take this hill now we won't be able to spot for the rest of the invasion force. More people will die overall."

Maslow was quiet for several seconds as he processed her reasoning. Jane was concerned that she might have to pull rank on him.

"Yes Ma'am. Alright everyone! We have to leap frog it up to the top. Be smart and be careful." He yelled into his comm.

Jane nodded to him and told her troops the same thing. She could see the worry in their faces. Jane herself tried to be as confident as possible for their sakes. She knew what was about to happen but she had to look like she believed they would all make it out.

"I'll go first!" Jane called out.

Jane leaped over her cover and sprinted. She got shot by three different snipers. The first two rounds brought down her barrier and the last one brought down the kinetic shields her suit generated. But she made it.

_A little too close._

Jane started to blind fire her pistol in an attempt to give her people a little bit of covering fire.

Three marines sprinted towards her. The first two were lucky but the snipers focused fire on the last one. She had three holes near her heart. She was dead before she hit the ground.

_Poor girl._

The pattern continued. Jane would run out secure a rock and people would leap frog towards her. She winced every time she heard the scream as another Alliance marine died.

Jane made it behind what appeared to be the last piece of cover. She was still out of range for her biotic charge though. That had been the plan, at least her plan. She would be a great distraction if she could charge … give the marines the distraction they needed to get up safely. That wasn't an option anymore.

_Damn it_

"Report in!" she ordered over her comm.

She counted the amount of marines that called in.

Her squad was now down to half strength. To be honest she was expecting that they would have all died by now … she was impressed.

"Jane you hear me?!"

"Yeah Jeremy, what's wrong?"

"We're out of cover? What do we do now?!" he asked

_What we need to do._

"We are going to have to charge up the rest of the way."

"WHAT!?" he yelled back, disbelief coloring his voice. It sounded like he was convinced that he heard her wrong.

"You heard me. There is no more cover here. We don't have a choice. Get all the other squad leaders patched in."

A moment of silence passed between the two.

"Done."

"Alright everyone, we are going to have to charge up the rest of this hill."

To their credit no one even gasped. They just analyzed the consequences of this action with cold understanding. All of them knew that there was a chance that they wouldn't come back alive … but they all knew the risks.

That thought didn't make her feel any better.

"I know a lot of us are not going to make it. I wish there was another way but there just isn't. We have to take that bunker. If we don't then the Batarians will have more maneuvering room and the Alliance invasion of Torfan could very well fail. We need to do this."

There were several grunts of acknowledgement.

Jane knew she overvalued the worth of this hill, but she had too. It was true that if they didn't take the bunker then more Alliance soldiers would die, but the invasion would continue on without it. She was giving the marines a cause to die for, if that's what it came to.

"On my mark. 3…2…1…MARK!"

Jane leapt out of cover, as did the rest of her unit.

Jane felt like time had slowed to a crawl. She watched as bullets started to fly past her head. Every pirate on top of that hill was firing on them. She could see rocks explode around her as bullets missed her. She felt her heart rate go into overdrive.

She could tell that a lot of her people were about to die. But the faster she could charge up there the better. She pushed herself harder.

She could hear the screams of her people dying behind her, but she had to stay focused. She had to push forward.

She was getting close, almost in charge distance.

That's when the fire shifted towards her. She felt a round impact on her barrier … then another. The barrier was on the verge of collapsing.

Another round destroyed her barrier, but thankfully her armor's kinetic barrier picked up the slack. But it was far weaker than the barrier … and it was the only thing keeping death at bay.

She knew that if she didn't charge in a couple of seconds she was a good as dead. She pushed herself even harder to close the distance.

Her armor's alarms started to shriek. She was defenseless. Even worse was the red laser she could see on her chest.

_I WILL NOT DIE HERE! I DO NOT ALLOW IT!_

Jane's adrenaline really kicked in. She maybe three steps away from charging a Batarian who was on top of one of the Anti-Infantry turrets that were tearing her unit apart.

_Perfect_

Jane could feel that the sniper's trigger starting to be pulled.

She charged.

She flew through the air and straight into the Batarian spotting for the turret. He flew away screaming in surprise.

Jane pulled the hatch on top of the turret open, dropped a grenade in, and sealed the hatch. She could feel the boom of the grenade go off … and heard the screams of those in the turret before the grenade went off.

Jane sighted the sniper that a few moments ago almost succeeded in killing her and launched a throw at the deployable snipers nest he was on.

The batarian was knocked out of the sniper nest, and was in the path of the falling cover. He didn't move fast enough. He screamed out … then was silent.

Jane started to wreak havoc in the compound. She would charge from one sniper nest to another. Killing the occupants with a well aimed shotgun blast to the face. After they were all dead she moved her slaughter to the turrets. She would either open the hatch up and spray them down with her assault rifle or just drop a grenade. Same result. All the turrets were down by the time the rest of the marines arrived. When that was over the only pirates left were the ones in the center.

Jane charged in the center … then used her devastating Nova ability. None of the batarians survived.

Most of the gasped at the slaughter that Jane brought to the batarians. It wasn't even a fight, not really. The batarians certainly tried but they were no match of the Biotic Fury that was Jane Shepard.

Jane looked over at the marines who made it up the hill. Five of the squads had been completely killed off, including their . Her team was down to a fourth of its former man power. Maslow's team seemed to be at half strength. The last team lost only about a fourth.

"Alright people. My team and Maslow's will stay up here and guard our backs. The rest of you will accompany us down into the bunker."

They all saluted and ran off to do their assigned tasks.

She looked at her fellow Special Forces members and nodded.

Within three minutes of having acquired the top of the hill they were already at the bottom of the elevator shaft. The elevator was huge, more than enough space to fit all of the marines. That kind of elevator was used for heaving lifting.

_What do they have down here?_

It was a kill box, any decent enemy would have the elevator surrounded and would blast them to shreds. Jane expected no different. That's why Jane put up a biotic barrier right before the elevator doors started to open.

The pirates were too stupid to notice this before they opened fire. All the shots bounced off … however the shield didn't work both ways. Her team flooded the enemy with rounds as well. The pirates were so confident that they hadn't been in cover. Bad idea.

It was over in a couple of seconds. When Jane was sure the danger was gone she lowered the shield and moved forward.

The base layout was supposed to be simple, or at least that is what the scans said. It appeared they were accurate as far as Jane could tell. It was basically a straight hallway that led to a larger room before heading off into the main computer room, which then was connected to the barracks. The bases themselves weren't that big but there were hundreds on the moon.

What bothered Jane was that this was one of the smaller bases. She could only shudder at the thought of what the others had to face out there, they didn't even know how many enemies they faced.

Jane then had an idea.

Jane was now interested in the computer room. It wasn't a main objective but any information here could help the Alliance here or even lead them to other pirate bases outside of Torfan. It wasn't worth ignoring.

There was light resistance throughout the hallway … but it wasn't a match for the Alliance team sweeping through.

They eventually made it to a huge room, with occupied slave cages lining the walls. There were at least two people per cage, and there had to be at least two dozen cages. Men and women of all ages. There were several kids here.

"Dear God" muttered Maslow

"Alright team. Jeremy, Maslow, and I will get these people out. The rest of you go through the rest of the base and secure it. Once you finish start working on that computer terminal."

"Yes Ma'am" replied the marines

It didn't take long to hack through the cages locks and soon everyone was free.

The former slaves looked extremely nervous. That bothered Jane; it was like they were scared of the Alliance soldiers who saved them.

"You are all safe now, once we secure this base we will work on getting you back to the Alliance." Jane replied

No response. It chilled her to the bone.

Jane turned to her squad mates and said "Jeremy, Maslow. Go check on the others. I'll watch over these people."

When she heard the door close behind them she heard the familiar sound of a pistol being drawn.

_God Damn it_

Jane turned back to see that most of the slaves were starting to pull weapons. A few had guns but most were equipped with knives. Jane remembered a story that Commander Lee had told her once, of one of the teams freeing slaves only to be betrayed by them. Jane should have expected this.

Jane charged her biotics.

"This is your only warning." She said. The threat thick in her tone.

None of them took her advice. They charged.

Jane unleashed a biotic shockwave. It scattered the slaves and knocked the weapons out of most of their hands. Jane also heard several snaps, and several of the slaves did not get back up.

The rest got back up and charged her again. Jane resorted to hand-to-hand as it would keep them alive. These were civilians, no match for a hardened Spec Ops soldier. There was too many of them though.

Eventually one grazed her cheek with a knife.

_ENOUGH!_

Jane loose a biotic explosion that let sent all of the former slaves flying away from her. Jane heard several snaps. A lot of them did not get back up.

But the ones who were still alive got right back up and charged again.

Jane greeted them with her shotgun. The holes in their chest were ugly, blood splattered everywhere. Did she regret bringing her weapon on them … not at all. They were the enemy. She just kept firing.

When her shotgun over-heated she just switched to her assault rifle.

Soon all of the slaves were in a puddle in their own blood and internal organs. She had spared no mercy to the brainwashed people. They were the enemy, same as any other. She had warned them and they did not surrender … their fault this happened.

Jane found a little girl with a shot up knee cap, still alive; she looked like she was about thirteen. She was crying, understandably so. Jane lowered herself to the floor and started to check the wound, applying Medi-Gel.

Before Jane could get back up the girl pulled a knife and thrust it at her. Jane was completely surprised and she found the knife going into her shoulder, despite the armor being in the way.

Jane landed on her back. The girl crawled on top of her and pulled the knife out and tried to finish her off.

_Not today bitch_

Jane knocked the girl off with her biotics and got back up. The girl got up as well, knife in hand.

_HOW THE HELL IS SHE UP! SHE HAS A DESTROYED KNEE CAP!_

The girl 'charged' Jane. The girl was limping pretty severely; she was really just hopping on one leg.

Jane side stepped, maneuvered herself around the girl and put a hand under her chin and on the back of her head.

She pulled the girls head to the left. The girl had dropped the knife and was trying to peel of Jane's hands.

Jane held on firmly, but did not yet act.

The child under her grip was brainwashed. A slave. A victim. But yet … still an enemy.

Jane wasn't sure what to do. She wasn't to blame for this. But more importantly she was a little girl, did she deserve to die?

_Would she ever recover from this?_

_Probably not._

Jane snapped the girl's head to the right violently … the girl stopped struggling.

It was done. Jane let go of the girl and she fell to the floor with a thud. Jane didn't even bother to catch the girl as she fell.

Jane had no remorse for any of this. They were the enemy. She had to kill the enemy. It was what a soldier did. Plus … it was merciful.

"What the FUCK DID YOU DO!?" screamed Maslow.

"How much of that did you see?" Jane replied as she turned to face Maslow.

"You had her disarmed, she wasn't a threat! Then you broke her neck!" he yelled back

"She was an enemy. The bad guy. She was a threat and so I ended it."

Maslow looked horrified. Jane had a neutral glance on her face.

It was quiet for several minutes, the only sounds being that of the generator powering the base.

"There were some batarians in the barracks, they all surrendered. Maybe they can give us some Intel." Maslow said, breaking the silence.

"Show me."

Maslow led her to the barracks.

There were ten Batarians, all on their knees with their hands behind their back.

Jane approached them.

"So who has something they would like to tell me, something that would help the Alliance."

"Go to Hell human. We won't tell you anything." Muttered the one on the far right.

Jane approached him. She crouched down to his eye level.

"I think you mean you won't say anything. I'm sure your friends will."

"They will never…"

Jane didn't let him finish. In the blink of an eye she drove four of her fingers into the Batarian's eyes. One finger per eye. He was screaming in agony. His friends didn't scream out but she could tell they were terrified. Who wouldn't be?

She waited until he stopped thrashing before pulling her fingers out of his eye sockets. She was kind enough to put a bullet in his head to spare him more pain. A mercy she believed that he didn't deserve.

Her people had taken a few steps back. They were just as scared.

"Anyone have anything to say? Now would be a great time to say it." she said

The Batarians were all too shocked to respond.

Jane shot the next Batarian with her shotgun, straight to the face. His head was gone after the shot.

"Too slow. I ask again. WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!"

"Nothing. We don't know anything!" screamed a Batarian on the left side of the line.

"WRONG ANSWER!" she screamed as she killed the next one in line.

The one who had said they didn't know anything turned towards her men and screamed "PLEASE. SHE IS CRAZY. HELP US!"

He was practically begging.

"Don't speak until spoken to jackass." Jane said as she stuffed her barrel into the next batarian's forehead and fired.

The wall behind the prisoners was staring to turn red due to all of the blood.

The batarian stayed silent this time. Most likely afraid that he would get more of his friends killed.

_Smart man_

"Are you pirates or are you something else?" She asked as she raised her shotgun to the Batarian that was next.

He answered "We're transport crews. We pick up the slaves and transport them back to Batarian space."

That caught her attention. If there was any way to link this back to the Hegemony … well it was worth any price. It would also be worth their lives too. Jane wasn't a complete monster … anyone who gave her information she liked would be rewarded with their life.

"Back to Hegemony space? Can you prove that the Batarian Hegemony was involved with the Skyllian Blitz?"

"They aren't that stupid. They partially funded that attack but they hide it well. We all know that played apart … but we can't prove it."

_FUCK!_

Jane started to walk away, she was done. There was no point in going on anymore; they didn't know anything that could help them. They were transport crews … what could they possibly know?

She could hear the batarians all sigh in collective relief.

That made her angry. They were right, they would be fine. They would spend some time in prison sure but after that they would be released and then just repeat the cycle.

_Unacceptable_

She stopped in her tracks, and then slowly turned around.

"You know what. No. I'm not doing this. You gave us nothing and you are criminals. You are the people that steal our people from our colonies, you herd them like cattle doing God knows what to them, and then you sell them to some dirty aristocrat on Khar'shan. Enough is enough." Jane said as she charged her biotics.

The Batarians started to scream and squirm due to their fear. It was what they should have been doing.

Jane unleashed a singularity. Something she had one done once before. As soon as the Batarians started to fly through the air she shot out a warp. The biotic explosion ripped them all to shreds.

_Go to Hell you pirate bastards._

"Did we get any data from the computer core?" Jane asked, to anyone really.

"Yeah but its … encrypted. Pretty fancy stuff for pirates. It probably has some good information but it will take a few months to decrypt."

Jane sighed.

_NOTHING, WE GOT NOTHING FROM THIS!?_

"Let's go" muttered Jane as they turned to leave.

It was silent the entire trip back. When they arrived at the surface Jane was happy to see that nothing had happened up top during their absence.

Maslow and Jeremy quickly cornered her, thankfully out of ear shot of all the others.

"What the Hell was that?" asked Maslow

"What?" Jane replied sarcastically

"You killed ten unarmed prisoners of war. Killing one is a war crime. You risked everything just for what … to satisfy your blood lust?" asked Maslow

"They deserved it and you know it. They were pirates. They had people herded like cattle, they brainwashed them. All those slaves died because of what those pirate bastards did to them. Those pirates probably would have spent five to six years in jail while what … all of their victims lie dead. How is that fair?"

"It's not, and to be frank I don't give a shit that you killed them. They did deserve it. What bothered me was that you were willing to risk your freedom and career for those bastards."

"What?" Jane asked in confusion.

"You gave into killing them. Possibly ruining your whole life. Do you think they were worth that? People like that are not worth it. You risked everything on people who don't deserve it."

Jane was shocked. She had assumed this was going to be a moralistic lecture. When Jane had lasted talked to Maslow he was just as idealistic as Kate. It was why she liked having him around … reminded her of her little sister. That similarity just died.

_What the Hell changed him?_

Maslow let go and replied "I'm almost positive no one here will rat you out so you lucked out. If you ever try to get vengeance again … well make sure no one will ever know about it."

Maslow turned away and headed back to his team.

"Jeremy … what the Hell happened to him?"

"His family was on Elysium."

Jane closed her eyes and shook her head. It made so much sense now.

"If it makes any difference to you Ma'am I don't think what you did was that bad. Just a little bit crazy but not something I would lose sleep over."

"Thanks Jeremy."

He turned and went after Maslow. They all still had a job to do. They needed to spot for the rest of the invasion force.

Jane however was left to sit with her feelings.

_And I used to believe that I was the only one who would do something like that. I can't tell if I am glad or disappointed by their reactions._

Jane shook herself out of her thoughts and went to join her people.

**Six Hours Later Jane's POV**

"Am I reading this report correctly Lieutenant?" asked Major Kyle

"Yes Sir"

"Ninety percent K.I.A. You just threw them at the turrets."

"Yes Sir, I had a job to do." She replied

The Major sighed then replied "The platoon lost eighty percent of its people today Lieutenant. I don't blame you just so we are clear. I just need time … hopefully that will be enough."

"Sir it isn't your fault."

"Thank you … Jane. But onto the more serious manner. In your report you confess to the execution to ten unarmed prisoners. Why?"

"Because those bastards aren't worth hiding. I'm proud of what I did. They were scum and they deserved to be punished."

"This could easily land you in prison for the rest of your life."

"I know that Sir, but I'm not a coward who lies about their actions. I will always stand for them because I believe I am making the right call."

"I admire your honesty. I don't particularly care for those pirates but someone will want to hang you for this."

"I know, and I'll deal with it."

"Alright Jane, if you're sure."

Jane nodded.

Major Kyle sent the send on her report. It was over. Her career was about to come to a drastic end. The reports were to be sent back to the Fleet, then back to Earth. Someone somewhere would notice.

Jane grabbed her gear and started to head back to the shuttle.

A teary marine was waiting outside the landing pad. The woman was a mess, there was blood on her face, her armor was burned and had several marks of where bullets grazed her. But the look on her face caught Jane's attention. It was a face that conveyed the feelings of loss, anger, and hopelessness.

_Oh no… _

The marine spotted Jane and sprinted to her. Unsurprisingly as soon as the woman made it to Jane she slugged Jane across the face.

The force behind the punch was surprising and Jane found herself on the ground. It was going to bruise.

"Y-Y-YOU BITCH! YOU TOOK HER AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed

Jane rose to her feet to her feet in silence.

"What was her name?" Jane whispered

"Jackie" the woman sobbed

Jane's mind instantly flashed back to the first marine that died during the charge.

Jane might not have known those marines long but she always made sure she knew their names; that they were people not tools that were fighting beside her. It helped her remember that she wasn't the only risking their life. It was also a great way to punish herself whenever she had to sacrifice someone. It was the least those people deserve.

"I'm so so-"

"I don't want to hear it!"

Jane could understand that. She would feel the same way if it was her sister that was about to be shipped home in a box.

Several other marines started to migrate towards the pair. Jane gave them a subtle gesture to back off. She would handle this, the best way she knew how.

"Is that all you got?" Jane asked

The marine in front of her stiffened.

"IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE! THAT SLAP SURE AS HELL DIDN'T HURT. I'M BEGINNING TO QUESTION HOW MUCH YOU-" Jane screamed

The marine tackled her to the ground and began to give Jane one Hell of a beat down. She landed blow after blow to Jane's face. It was brutal, but Jane just took it. That was her intent. She wanted the marine to beat the shit out of her. She deserved to suffer.

Jane suddenly felt the weight lift off her as another marine tackled the grieving woman off her. Jane had hoped they would have taken longer to respond.

Another one lifted Jane to her feet.

Jane felt awful. She knew her nose was broken and her left eye had swollen shut. But it wasn't enough for her. She waved all the marines off. Even the one holding the woman down.

Jane pulled the woman to her feet.

"Is that all got?" Jane asked, giving the woman the option to continue.

The woman gave her one last punch across the jaw.

Jane collapsed to the floor.

_That's going to be sore in the morning._

Jane stumbled back to her feet.

Jane looked the woman in the eyes and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"I deserve so much worse. But please, don't destroy your life because of what I did. I'm not worth it."

The woman broke down into tears again, but she did not strike Jane again.

Jane pulled the woman into a hug. Surprisingly the woman wrapped her own arms around Jane.

Jane held the woman for a few minutes. The woman's sobs eventually stopped.

Jane gently pulled away.

The woman looked at Jane and said "I will never forgive you … but I can tell you regret what happened. I think that is enough for me."

Jane nodded.

The woman left.

A marine approached her.

"Do you want to have her court-martialed?"

Jane gave the man the most hateful glare she could send in his direction.

The man got the message and backed up … his hands raised as if he were surrendering.

_Idiot_

Jane brushed off all the medics that tried to help her. She was going to keep these wounds as long as possible … a reminder of her failure here.

Jane was lost in her thoughts on the way back to the ship. It would be only a few more hours before she would be hauled away in chains.

As soon as the shuttle arrived Jane headed back towards her cot.

"Lieutenant Jane please report to the Med-Bay." Said the VI

_Damn it_

Someone must have radioed back to the ship that she was hurt and refusing treatment.

Jane arrived in the Med-Bay to find it completely empty.

_Strange_

Jane took a seat on one of the beds.

_Bathroom break?_

The door opened. Jane turned to see Admiral Hackett walking in the door.

Jane jumped to her feet and saluted.

Hackett returned the salute.

"At ease"

Jane adopted a neutral pose; her feet shoulder width apart with her hands behind her back.

"How can I help you Sir?"

Hackett handed her a report.

Jane didn't have to look to know whose it was.

The temperature dropped several degrees, or at least Jane could have sworn it did.

"Now what Sir?"

"Read it"

His tone was unnerving.

Jane read it.

It was her report and Jane was confused to why she was reading it … until she got to the part about the batarian prisoners.

Apparently the batarian prisoners pulled out weapons and tried to kill them.

_Is this what I think it is?_

"Is this what I think it is Sir?"

"Your report on what happened … yes."

That was all she needed. This whole thing was being swept under the rug. A cover up.

"Sir …"

"You aren't the only one who does what needs to be done."

_Dear God. He is just as ruthless as me._

The pair was silent as they evaluated each other. Jane on one hand committed war crimes while on the other Hackett had it covered up. Who was worse? That question bothered Jane more than she thought it would.

"I just wanted you to know that you will be receiving a promotion. Congratulations Commander." He said

_Commander huh. I like it._

"Thank you Sir. Am I to stay stationed here?"

"No. We have a new unit awaiting your command. The nature of this unit tends to be … classified."

_Black Ops, why am I not surprised._

"Good day Commander" he said

Jane saluted him and he returned it before he turned around to leave.

As soon as the Admiral left a doctor came in. He didn't look like he was surprised to see Jane there.

"Ah hello Jane. I see you got quiet the injury there. Let me get you something for that."

"Sure Doctor" she replied

The Jane that walked into that Med-Bay was determined not to get help. To keep the injury for as long as possible as a reminder that she had lost. But know Jane questioned if she really did anything wrong. She had been rewarded for war crimes and sacrificing almost all of her squad. Maybe that was what she was supposed to do. Maybe that wasn't so wrong after all. Ever since she had joined the Alliance she had rewarded for behavior like that.

_Huh. I didn't do anything wrong. Sad how long it took to realize that I was always doing the right thing. Won't make that mistake again._

Jane let the doctor do his work and by the time that Jane left she felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She felt like a new woman.

Over the next few days several clean-up operations were instigated. Jane participated in several.

That was when she heard about her new nick-name.

The Butcher of Torfan.

Jane suspected that one of the N6 recruits came up with it. A play off her old nick-name in the N7 training program.

Jane loved it.

She was just about to be shipped out to her new unit when she received a message for the N7 committee board.

_Is this what I think it is?_

It was. An N7 commendation. She was going to be an N7 just like her sisters.

_Oh how life is so rewarding._

**Two Weeks Later Jane's POV**

"Hey Kate, how are you doing?" Jane asked

"I'm okay"

Even through the call Jane could tell that Kate was lying.

"Kate"

"You caught me. It's just that I've been hearing rumors about the Butcher of Torfan ... and I don't like what I am hearing."

Jane winced. She hadn't expected that name to stick … or the fact that her reputation had spread as far so fast.

"Kate let me –"

"Jane. Have you heard the rumors surrounding you?" Kate asked

"Yes"

"Are they true?"

Jane was silent.

Kate scowled.

"Kate … please." Jane begged

Kate sighed.

"Jane I'm disappointed but … I still love you though. Nothing could ever stop me."

Jane let out the breath see had been holding.

"Thank you."

"I'm still mad at you though." Kate replied

"I know."

"Did you talk to Abbey yet?" Kate asked

"Yeah I was able to speak to her yesterday."

"Did she know?"

"No"

"How did she react?"

"Indifference."

Kate sighed. Jane didn't blame her; she had expected Abbey to be almost as angry as Kate. When Abbey remarked that she didn't really care … it bothered her.

"Something is wrong with her." Said Kate

"Yeah there is."

"Do you think it's because of-"

"Yes"

Kate sighed again.

"I can't stand seeing how much she has changed." Kate said

"I know … it tears me up inside."

Kate and Jane sat there in silence.

Kate was the first to break it.

"I hear you got your N7 designation." Kate said. She had a smile on her face toe. The first time she had smiled this entire conversation.

"Yeah I finally did."

"Good, it took her long enough." Kate replied, smirking as she said it.

"Ouch" Jane replied, feigning hurt feelings.

They both chuckled.

"Kate I have to go. I love you."

"Love you too Jane."

Jane ended the call.

Jane stretched and got ready for bed. Jane slipped into sleep with no trouble. She never had nightmares after Torfan … none at all. Why would she, she had done nothing wrong.

* * *

_**Well that was Torfan which is the last of the origins for our three heroines. Torfan I thought was the hardest to do to be honest. How does one commit war crimes then not get punished in a realistic fashion? I think a cover up would make sense. After all reputation and rumors would escape Alliance censor but no one could ever prosecute based on rumors alone. Plus UNC: The Negotiation alone proves that Hackett is not always a moralistic person.**_

_**It also appeared that Jane actually had a strange sense of honor … which might have been obliterated once Hackett rewarded her for her actions on Torfan. Oops, well not really. Some of you might wonder why that rewards twisted her like that. Well rewarding bad behavior only encourages it so eventually Jane actually believed that she was doing the right thing.**_

_**I think this came out alright it covered the huge loss of Shepard's unit and execution of prisoners of war. **_

_**We have almost arrived at Mass Effect 1 people. We are really close.**_

_**I hope you enjoyed and as always if you have anything to say you can always say it in a review or PM.**_

_**Oh if you ever see one of the sisters being referred to as another, like Jane being called Kate, can you tell me in a review or PM. As far as I know it has only happened once already and I have corrected it but I want to make sure that if I make the same mistake again that I can revise it as quickly as possible. This problem isn't that bad right now but could be an issue when all three of them are together. **_


End file.
